Butterfly in the Sky
by VioletOakCypress
Summary: Jo Pierce comes to the BAU as a researcher. As she is accepted by the team, she learns that the bond that links their family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's lives.
1. Red Velvet Cupcake, Anyone?

Garcia ran into Morgan's office. "So did your hear?"

"Hear what?" He looked up from his paperwork.

"Someone is coming to take over JJ's office."

"Oh yeah, I know about that." Morgan shrugged it off.

Garcia's mouth hung open. "How can you know something like this and not tell me? This is going to have an impact on our team, and you know how I don't like change. What if I don't like this person? What if we don't get along? What if..."

"Calm down, it will be just fine. She is not joining the team, she will have her own duties to attend to."

"She's a researcher. She supposed to assist me with cases. How could no one talk to me about this? The mucky mucks think they can just wave their magic wands and mess up my flow?"

"I need you to relax. I know how you get when someone comes in and disrupts your energy. But just give her a chance. Will you do that for me?"

Garcia conceded. "Just because you asked me to."

"Hey, if it will make you feel better, I will go talk to Hotch and see if we can make some kind of deal, okay?"

She got excited? "You would do that for me?"

"I'll see what I can do." He kissed her forehead. "Now scurry your little butt back into your office and don't worry."

* * *

Morgan walked down the hallway to Hotch's office, knocked on the door and went in.

"Hey, Morgan, come on in." Hotch waved him forward. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about this new researcher that is coming in. She kinda has Garcia a little freaked out. You know how she doesn't like change. I just wanted to see if there was anything that could be done if things didn't mesh well between them after a while if she wouldn't have to stay here."

Hotch dropped his pen on top of the report he was writing in. "When I had a conversation with the Director about adding a researcher onsite to assist with cases, and that included working with our analyst. I made sure that I was the one who got to pick this person, and on the condition that they would also work well with Garcia. If they did not, then I would be searching for a replacement."

"Sometimes Hotch, you surprise me." Morgan admitted. "So who is she?"

"Her name is Agent Jo Pierce. I've read over her file, and I've met with her. I think that she will be a good fit for this team, and that includes Garcia. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Thanks Hotch." Morgan nodded and left the office.

* * *

The next day, Hotch entered the BAU carrying a cardboard file box in his hands followed by a young lady carrying two paper to-go cups from a coffee shop. She was in professional attire and trailed behind Hotch like a little puppy. She hardly went unnoticed.

Hotch walked into JJ's old office and placed the box on top of the empty desk. "Here you go." He looked around the bare space. "Just let me know if there is anything that you need. But I am sure you will be able to make this place feel like home in no time."

"Thank you sir." She put down the cups and extended her hand to her boss, they shook hands, and she grabbed one of the cups. "Here, this is for you. Coffee. Black."

He smiled. "Thank you, but you didn't have to."

"Oh, it was no trouble sir. Just a little token of appreciation."

"Okay, well I will let you get settled."

"Thank you, sir." Hotch left her alone in her new office.

She looked around and then opened the box that he gently set on her desk. She heard tapping on her door and turned around. "Oh, hi." She said with a smile on her face.

Garcia stood in the doorway and looked her up and down. "So, you are my new researcher, huh?"

"I guess so." She walked forward to shake hands. "I am Jo Pierce, and you must be Penelope Garcia. I must say it is a great pleasure to work with you! Everyone wanted this position so badly because they would get to work with you." She said honestly.

Garcia was taken aback. "Oh? I did not know I had that kind of a reputation."

Jo smiled. "Yes, you do. When I heard about this spot opening, I knew I had to do whatever it took to get it. Oh!" She exclaimed and turned around and went into the box. She pulled out a plastic tray of cupcakes. "Here, please have one. They're red velvet." She pointed to the tops. "With cream cheese frosting."

Garcia took one. "Thank you." She took a bite. "Oh my goodness. These are like heaven. Where did you get them from?"

"Oh, I made them."

"You made these?" She remarked with her mouth full. "You are like a baker god!" She smiled. "Okay, that is a point in your favor. I must go back to my office now. I will be seeing you later."

* * *

Jo spent most of her day alone, arranging her office and going through the case files she brought with her. Part of her job was to read over past or cold cases, organize notes and information, and make sure it was properly inputted into the new electronic system.

The Deputy Director had already made sure she had a stack of cases to get started on. Jo didn't like to let things build up, she started her work immediately.

The team sat in the bullpen, occasionally looking up at the window, wondering what she was like. Yet they had their own work to do and were too busy to go spy on the new girl.

Garcia walked out of her office with an empty coffee mug in her hand. She walked directly towards Jo's office and knocked on her door. "I am off for a coffee run, I wanted to know if you would like to come with me, and we can take a few moments to meet a few members of the team."

Jo smiled up at Garcia from her desk, "I would like that, thank you." She got up, grabbed the tray of cupcakes and followed Garcia down the stairs, and toward the group.

Garcia took Jo's hand as she approached some of the team. "Hey you guys, this is Jo Pierce, and she is the new researcher who will be working with us, and this is JJ, Emily, and Morgan." They shook hands as they introduced themselves.

Jo held out the tray of cupcakes. "Here, they are red velvet, with cream cheese frosting. Help yourselves."

They each grabbed a treat and took their bites.

"She made them herself… from scratch. Including the frosting!" Garcia announced.

The moans of enjoyment soon followed from the group as they enjoyed the soft and fluffy cake.

"Oh, wow." JJ proclaimed. "If you continue to bring things like this, I will gain ten pounds in no time."

"Tell me about it." Emily agreed.

"So," Morgan started, "have you met with Hotch and Rossi, yet?"

"Yes, I met with them before my transfer. To be honest with you, Agent Hotchner is kind of intimidating." The group laughed at her statement.

"Don't worry." Morgan said reassuringly. "If you do your job you will fine."

"So, how are you liking my old office? I am glad it's finally being put to good use, it was becoming a storage closet there for a moment" JJ laughed.

"I am getting settled in. It is kind of bare for my tastes, but I am sure after a while it will be just like home." JJ saw Reid walking toward the small group with his hands in his pockets and a messenger bag strapped across his chest. "Oh look, here's Spence." She waved him over.

Jo turned around and came face to face with Spencer. "Reiding Rainbow?!" She exclaimed

"GI JO?!" His eyes beamed at the sight of her. He reached for her and gave her a long, tight hug. "Oh, it is so good to see you! Why didn't you tell me you were coming to the BAU?"

"I didn't really know myself until yesterday. And even then, I wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to see you."

"Okay, you two." Morgan interrupted. "You need to catch us up. How do you know each other?"

Reid turned to the group. "Jo and I lived down the street from each other in Las Vegas."

"He used to tutor me." She admitted

"And she used to beat up my bullies." He snickered. "We used to play capture the flag, where I would draw up these detailed maps and plans of attack and Jo would go in and get that flag… every time."

"I would love to stay and get to know you all better, but I do have work I need to finish." Jo turned to Reid. "I'll catch up with you later, Spencer."

They all decided that was the right time to break up and get back to work.

* * *

A couple of hours later, JJ and Emily popped their heads into Jo's office.

"You wouldn't happen to have any more of those cupcakes laying around, would you?" JJ asked.

Jo smiled and pointed to the top of her filing cabinet. "Of course, right over there, help yourself."

The ladies practically darted for them. Emily swooped some of the frosting off the cake with her finger and stuck it in her mouth. "You know, we are going out tonight, sort of a _ladies night_ , would you like to join us?"

Jo dropped the file she was reading on her desk. "Yes, that sounds like fun."

The bar was smoky and loud, but the four ladies were still able to hear each other as they sat at the small table drinking their beers.

"So when was the last time you saw Spence?" JJ asked.

"Actually, it's been a while. I think it was right after I finished the Olympics."

Garcia spit out her beer. "You were in the Olympics?" She was in shock.

"Yes, I was on the sharp-shooting team. I didn't actually compete, mind you, I was an alternate."

"But still," Emily started, "that is still remarkable."

"So why the FBI?" JJ took a drink from her beer.

"It was Spencer who influenced that. We kept in touch after he was away at school and then when he went into the FBI. He would write to me about what he was doing and learning and it sounded so fun and exciting, that I wanted to join."

Emily patted Jo's knee. "Well we are going to want to probe you all about our Reid. But now is not the time for that. It is _ladies night_ and time for us to have fun." The four ladies cheered and drank their beers.

The next day, Emily met up with Derek for lunch on their day off. Emily leaned over the table resting her forehead onto her hand, still wearing her sunglasses.

"Whoa, how much did you have to drink?"

"I lost count. We were playing _I Never_. Turns out, I've done a lot of stuff."

Morgan chuckled. "Now why does that not surprise me? You still want to eat? You should get something into your system."

"Could you feed it to me intravenously? Because when I chew, it makes my toes hurt."

"What did you end up drinking?"

"I remember we started with beer, and then I think we ended the night doing Irish Car Bombs."

"Yeah, that'll do it." Morgan looked over the menu. "So what's this Jo girl like?"

Emily sat up. "Oh my god. She is awesome. Did you know that she was a sharp shooter on the Olympics team?"

"Seriously? So what is she doing at a desk job being a researcher?"

Emily's eyebrows scrunched together. "I don't know, I didn't ask." Emily shook her head. "And it's none of our business, Morgan."

"I know, but can't a man be curious?"


	2. Claude Rains is to die for

"Wheels up in thirty." Hotch said as he closed the case file and left the room.

One by one the team boarded the jet. Reid had already settled in reading one of his first edition books.

Morgan sat down across from him. "So, are you going to give me the dirt on you and your friend, Jo?"

Reid closed his book. "I am not sure what you mean by dirt."

"You know," he grinned, "have you and her... ever..."

"Oh, no." Reid cut him off. "It's not like that with us. She's just one of my oldest friends."

"You're telling me that you never thought of her in that way?"

"Why would I?" Reid asked innocently.

"She's a babe, Reid. Don't you know that?"

"Jo has always been an attractive person, but I have only seen her as my friend."

"Okay. But you better watch out or someone is going to snatch her up." Morgan teased.

Reid picked back up his book but looked out the window as he remembered posing for pictures with Jo for her senior prom. Even then, he never thought of their relationship as anything more than very close friends. He was able to be open and honest with her. She accepted him. She would let him ramble on and on about one fact after another, it never bothered her. She actually enjoyed it. After all the difficulties he went through growing up as a genius, Jo never made him feel any different.

* * *

Jo walked into Garcia's office. "Hello, Penelope. I just wanted to check with you and see if there was anything you needed me to help you with for this case."

Garcia turned around in her chair. "Yes." She picked up a ream size stack of papers and placed them on the desk in front of Jo. "Here is a stack of applications. The bad guy has been using the forms as a way to get to his victims. Since this company does not believe in digitizing anything, we have to go through these page by page. I just got the last of them faxed to me... faxed. Can you believe it? I didn't even know that we still had a fax machine."

"So what are we looking for?"

"Let me see." Garcia looked at the notes that she took down from Hotch earlier. "We are looking for a female, between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five, Caucasian, single. Once we narrow those down, we should be able to work on getting it down further than that."

Jo started going through the mountain of papers narrowing them down. "No problem. I will get through this as quickly as possible."

A short time later, Garcia's phone rang. "Speak and you will be heard." She answered.

"Hey, Baby Girl. I need you to do me a favor."

Jo looked up from the stack of papers, as she was in the front row to witness the playful banter between Garcia and Morgan, unsure of exactly what was going on.

Morgan finished his request. "So call me back when you have an update."

"You know I will, Sugar Plum." Garcia disconnected the call.

"I didn't know interdepartmental dating was allowed." Jo was trying to figure out the connection between these two.

"Oh no. "Garcia smiled. "Derek and I have this thing. It's hard to explain. I love him very much but we are friends. The best of friends."

Jo still had confusion written on her face. "I am sure that I will catch onto the rhythm of things around here eventually."

After an hour, Jo had gone through the entire stack and had a small pile that fit the criteria she was looking for. "Okay, this is what I have." Jo announced to Garcia.

"Let me get Hotch on the phone."

"Go ahead, Garcia." Hotch announced over the speakerphone.

"Jo has sorted through the applications, we have a stack of about thirty left. What else do you need to look for?"

Jo started to fan the papers out across the desk to be able to go through them quicker.

Hotch came over the speaker. "Jo, look for anyone who has any kind of career listing in the medical field."

Jo rapidly skimmed over the paperwork. "Okay, I have a nurse, pharmacist, another nurse, doctor, and physician's assistant."

"Thank you, Garcia will help us with the rest." Hotch called over the phone.

Jo handed those final applications to Garcia to go through. She looked up each person and with the team's help they were able to find the next victim. Garcia hung up the phone and turned to Jo. "Thank you, I wouldn't have been able to get through this as quickly without you."

Jo stayed in Garcia's office, assisting when needed. Mostly observing as she worked and most of all, stayed out of her way.

* * *

Rossi knocked on Jo's office door and made his way in. He took a seat holding a folder in his hand. "I just want to see how you were doing?"

"Pretty well, so far." She responded. "Your team has already solved two cases since I've been here. I am still in awe on how well the team operates together."

"Yes, it can be like a well-oiled machine, at times, and every cog is necessary." He said looking directly at her. "I wanted to make sure that you knew you were doing a good job so far."

"Thank you, sir. I truly appreciate it."

"Now, while I am here, there is something I need you to do for me." He handed her a casefile. "This is a cold case. I was hoping you would be able to give it some fresh eyes."

She took it from his hand. "Of course, sir. I will get to it right away."

* * *

Jo turned off her desk lamp, grabbed her bag and took a last look around the office before turning off the overhead light and then shut the door.

Reid stood right outside her door, waiting for her. "You ready, Jo?"

"You bet." She wrapped her arm in his.

They walked past Hotch on their way out. "Have a goodnight, you two."

Reid smiled at Hotch.

"Have a goodnight, sir." She said meekly.

Once they got into the elevator and the doors closed, Reid turned to Jo. "You know you don't need to be scared of Hotch."

"I am not scared of him. He is just very formidable and makes me a little uneasy." She sighed. "You know that I have my weapons qualifications with him next week."

"Yeah, that you will pass without even thinking about it."

"He can still make me nervous, though." She shook her head. "But I don't want to think about that right now. So what's our plan for tonight?"

Reid got excited. "I was thinking for us to have a Universal monster movie marathon."

"Oh yes." She smiled. "Let's please start with The Invisible Man. Claude Rains is to die for!"

Hours later, Jo and Spencer were snuggling on his couch, in an intimately platonic way. The two loved and cared for each other very much, however neither of them gave a second thought to their friendship being anything more. They were best friends and were content to stay that way.

Jo reached for the half empty bowl of popcorn and sat it in her lap. "This is my favorite part." She said watching the scene where the car is driven off the side of the cliff. She gave a slightly evil chuckle. "It gets me every time." She put a couple of pieces of popcorn in her mouth. "This movie is so deliciously evil. He is basically drunk with power. He relishes in the fact that he has complete control, they aren't able to see him yet he can torture and kill them and get away with it. Such a masterpiece."

Spencer looked at her as she spoke with such excitement. He missed this time with his friend.


	3. Don't mess with a sniper

Garcia and Morgan entered Clancy's Bar to see a table with JJ, Emily, Jo and Spencer seated. "Hey, you guys." Garcia's mouth dropped open. "I didn't know you would all be here. This will be so much fun." She and Morgan pulled up chairs to join them. "We just went out to dinner and wanted to stop for a night cap." She looked around at her friends. "So why are you all here?"

Emily took a big gulp from her beer. "Bad date." She blurted.

"So we came to drown her sorrows." JJ giggled.

Morgan nudged Jo. "So when are we going to get juicy details of Reid growing up."

Reid's eyebrows raised. "Hey, I am sitting right here."

Jo smiled back at Morgan. "Even if I had any, I wouldn't share them with you."

Reid gave a self-assured smirk to Morgan.

JJ cut off Morgan before he could continue. "So, do your parents still live in Las Vegas?"

"Yes." She answered immediately. "Well, Henderson, actually. But yes. Where Spencer and I grew up, it's not the best neighborhood anymore, so my parents moved a few years ago."

"Hey Emily." Garcia called. "That guy at the end of the bar has been staring at you. I think you should go over there."

Emily slyly turned her head to see him then turned back. "Oh, I don't know. After the date I just had. I don't know if it is worth it."

"Oh, come on." Garcia encouraged. "I will go with you. His friend is kind of cute. I'll be your wingman." She gave a wink.

Emily looked at the group who all gave her encouraging looks. She took another drink to muster the courage. "Okay. Let's go." The two women got up and headed over to the attractive men across the bar.

JJ put down her beer. "Okay, Spence, it's time."

"Time for what?" He questioned.

"Time for us to play darts. Remember you promised the next time we came that you would play with me."

Reid sighed. "You're right." He reluctantly got up and followed JJ to the dart board.

Morgan looked to Jo. "Do you play darts?"

"Yes, but I prefer pool."

Morgan looked over her shoulder to the empty table. "Well, we can grab that one if you want."

Jo looked behind her then back to Morgan. "Sounds great."

Morgan put the balls on the table, and grabbed the rack as Jo selected a cue that was on the wall and started to chalk the end. As he removed the rack he uttered. "You break."

Jo bent over the table, lined up her shot and as the balls cracked they danced around the table. The nine ball spun into the corner pocket. "Stripes." She announced. She then went to the other side of the table. "Eleven; side pocket." She called out then knocked it in.

Morgan stood holding the cue in his hand. "Don't tell me that I'm playing with a shark." He laughed.

"Hardly." She chalked her cue some more. "Just luck." She then aimed for the fourteen but missed. "See, I told you. You're up." She picked up her beer and took a step back to allow Morgan to get his shot in.

Two men stood at the bar, a few feet away from Jo, arguing with each other. "You need to back off!" One man yelled as he pushed the other. "Fuck you!" He pushed back and the man was forced right into Jo. She dropped her glass on the floor and she was knocked over the pool table. Morgan walked around the table, with the cue still in his hand.

Jo picked herself up and turned to face the men who were fighting. The fact that they even made contact with another person didn't even faze them. "Hey!" She yelled getting their attention stopping one of the men from throwing a punch. "Are you seriously going to act like this right now? Do you even have any idea that one of you knocked me over and made me drop my beer? What are you even fighting over that's so important?"

Jo saw as they both looked down the bar at a woman wearing a dress too tight and cut too low. She swept her hair over her shoulder and gave a smile as if she orchestrated the whole thing. Jo's eyes pierced into the two men's. "You are both fighting over a girl who is flirting with _both of you_? Don't you know that a girl like that isn't worth fighting over in the first place? Neither of you are ever going to get her, and if one of you ever did, she would drop you so fast as soon as another man came along." She then pointed her finger at them. "This is what you are going to do. You are going to apologize for hitting me, and you are going to get me a replacement beer. And I don't drink any of that lite shit, either."

The occupants of the bar watched as the guys hung their heads in shame and started to pick up the chairs they knocked over. One of them put a brand new beer in front of Jo with a meek "Sorry". Then backing away with his tail between his legs.

Morgan stood watching her as she drank her replacement beer then leaned over the table to take her shot. During the commotion, JJ and Spencer left their game to offer any assistance. Morgan looked to Reid. "Is she serious right now? She just goes back to playing pool like nothing happened?"

Reid shrugged his shoulders and gave a subtle nod. He turned to go back to the dart board with JJ. He had seen Jo deal with aggressive males for as long as he has known her. She will always use her words first but has thrown a punch or two when needed. She spoke with confidence but not arrogance. She hated people who treated others unfairly and had no common decency.

* * *

Jo walked into the shooting range carrying a case almost four feet long. She saw Hotch standing at a stall with two sets of noise cancelling headphones in front of him and safety glasses already on. He looked over to her. "Right on time." She smiled and placed the case down against the wall. "Hotch handed her a set of glasses. "You can start whenever you are ready." They both put the headphones over their ears.

Jo pulled her 9mm glock from her holster, holding the weapon in front of her she let out a sigh. In that moment, Hotch disappeared, the shooting range disappeared. There was her and the target. She focused on the front sight, moved her finger over the trigger, and fired off ten rounds. Five in the chest's center and five head shots.

"Perfect." Hotch stated. "But I would expect nothing less from an Olympian."

She didn't know how to respond. Jo wasn't very good at accepting compliments. But she was able to let out a meager, "Thank you."

"The range is ours for an hour, you can practice as much as you want." Hotch moved over to the next stall and pulled out his weapon and started to shoot.

Jo aimed at her target and fired again. This time her she aimed directly to the heart and shot off four rounds. She then adjusted her aim and shot once. Hotch looked over at her target to see a single bullet hole in the crotch. "You know that aiming for the pelvic girdle is not a requirement." He smirked. He then looked down to the case that she brought in with her. "Did you bring your rifle?" They both holstered their weapons.

She went to the case, opened it and pulled out her Remington 700. She attached the scope and held it out in front of her, pointing downward, to check the sights. Hotch noticed a playing card was held onto the butt of the rifle with a rubber band.

"Why the Ace of Spades?" He asked pointing to the card.

She looked at the worn playing card. "It is my good luck charm. My Gambit has never let me down." She referred to the rifle.

"You read comics?" Hotch seemed surprised.

Jo was unsure how he was able to know that. "Yes, I have. How did you know?"

"It was more of a guess, actually. Most snipers call their Remingtons Remmy for short. You called yours Gambit, the superhero known for throwing playing cards and whose first name is Remy."

Jo stared at him unsure of what to say. How was he able to put that all together?

Hotch broke into a reluctant smile. "I have a son, who has discovered the world of Marvel Comics."

"Oh!" She let out a laugh. "For a second, I thought you were able to read my thoughts."

Hotch smiled. "No, I am just used to putting the pieces together."

"That makes sense, it is part of your job." She pulled out her rifle and set up a new target and placed it as far back as possible. "So who is your son's favorite character?"

"Well he was all about Spider-Man for a while, but now he is getting into the X-Men. What about you?"

"X-Men are cool. But deep down I have always preferred DC Comics over Marvel. For me it is Batman, all the way." She put back on her headphones and glasses, took aim, let out a sigh and fired. One shot, right between the eyes.

"Hotch took off his headphones. "Impressive. I know who I need to call when I need a sniper."


	4. Snickerdoodles and Flat Tires

Jo stepped off the elevator and walked into the bullpen.

Emily looked up from her desk. "Good morning, Jo."

"Good morning!" She smiled and held up the Tupperware container in front of her and smiled.

Emily stood up and rushed to her. "Oh, what do you have today?" She asked, practically licking her lips.

Jo opened the container. "I brought snickerdoodles."

JJ and Morgan flocked to her side, and they each grabbed one. "You can't keep doing this to us." He begged. "These are too good."

She placed the cookies down on the table. "I am going to leave these here so you can all help yourselves. I have to go check in with Penelope." Jo left the team and made her way to Garcia's office. "Good morning!" She entered the office and held out a baggie of her cookies. "I brought in snickerdoodles this morning."

Garcia graciously accepted them. "Thank you so much! You are such a sweetheart."

"So, what do we have on the itinerary for today?" She asked ready to get to work.

"Well, it looks like they will be heading out on a case today. I don't have anything yet, maybe after the meeting I might need your help, and I'll find you and let you know. So if you need to work on some other cases, go ahead."

Jo nodded her head. "Okay, good. I will get to that. Oh." She stopped before leaving. "I am planning on doing the hand-to-hand combat training course, do you know what agent is the instructor?"

"Yeah, that's Derek."

"Oh, okay." She paused. "I'll be sure to talk to him about it."

"Is there something wrong with that?" Garcia looked concerned.

Jo shook her head. "No, just I hear he is a hard instructor. But I guess anything worth doing, is worth doing right. Well, enjoy your cookies, and come find me later if you need me."

"Will do."

* * *

Rossi knocked on the doorframe to Hotch's office and made his way in. "Have you tried one of Jo's snickerdoodles that she brought in this morning?"

Hotch lowered the casefile he was reading to reveal that he had a half-eaten cookie in his hand. "If she ever decided to leave the Bureau, she could make a living opening a bakery."

"That's true. Now I just need for her to make me some cannoli."

Hotch smirked. "You should ask her."

Rossi sat down in front of Hotch's desk. "So, I came to check on how her weapon's qualification went."

"She aced it, of course. You know that she was a sharp shooter. She even brought her sniper rifle with her"

"I wonder how someone like her gets into sharp shooting. It isn't like Las Vegas is a big hunting community or anything."

Hotch shook his head. "I am not sure, but she is good at it. She did have great training."

"Do you think you would bring her into the field?" Rossi inquired.

"That's not the plan, her primary function to this team is to be a researcher. But I can see if we ever needed another agent that it could be relevant. She is, after all, a Special Agent in the FBI."

* * *

The team finished their meeting in the conference room and started to dissipate. Jo walked up to Morgan as he was coming out. "Hey Derek."

"What's up, Jo?"

"I heard you were running the hand-to-hand combat training."

"Yeah, why?" He stopped walking. "You planning on joining up?" He gave a smirk.

"Yes, I haven't trained in a while, and even though I am not in the field, I wanted to make sure that I was ready in case I was ever called in."

"That's smart."

Reid walked up behind Morgan. "You're going to take a combat class with Morgan?"

Jo turned her attention to Reid. "Yes, if he is the instructor."

Morgan turned around. "Is there a problem with that, Kid?"

"No, there isn't anything wrong. Jo is able to handle herself."

Morgan turned back to Jo. "I will get you the details when we get back from Minnesota."

Jo smiled. "Great, thanks!" She then took a step to Reid. "So you leaving soon?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Okay, you be careful out there." She rubbed his arm and headed into the conference room.

Hotch looked up. "Oh, good, Jo. We are heading to St. Paul and Garcia is going to need your help."

"Yes, I am." Garcia took her hand and pulled her to her office.

* * *

Jo sat in Garcia's office, passing the time with girl-talk waiting for the team to call them back to put them to work.

"So, you were stranded on the side of the road?" Garcia asked waiting to hear what happened next.

"I wasn't stranded. Penelope, I know how to change a flat tire." Jo reassured her. "So, I got the jack and I started to work on the lug nuts. That's when this other car pulled up."

"And that was the guy?" Garcia asked anxiously.

Jo smiled and nodded. "So, his car pulls up and he gets out. He comes over to me and offers to help."

Garcia interrupted. "And you graciously let Prince Charming change your tire?"

"No, I told him that I got it covered."

"You what?"

Jo then told her exactly what happened...

 _"Looks like you might need a little help." He said walking toward her._

 _"That's okay. It's just a flat tire." She responded loosening up the lug nut._

 _"I am not saying that you can't change the tire, just that, well look at you." He pointed out that she was dressed in a nice blouse, skirt and high heels on. "I wouldn't want you to mess up your clothes. I just came from the gym, I don't care if my clothes get dirty."_

 _She stood up and backed away, keeping the glock resting in her holster out of sight._

 _"I'm Josh, by the way." He introduced himself as he removed the tire._

 _"I'm Jo."_

 _"Jo, that's a nice name."_

 _"Thanks." She said simply._

 _He worked on tightening the tire in place, removed the Jack from under the car and shut her trunk. She handed him a few napkins that she took from her glove box to wipe his hands._

 _"Well, you're all set." He said cleaning up._

 _"Thank, I do appreciate your help."_

 _"Maybe you could show me your appreciation?"_

 _Jo instinctively put her hand on her weapon, still keeping it out of sight. "Like what?"_

 _"Maybe, you could buy me a cup of coffee, sometime?"_

 _She couldn't help but let out a smile. "Yeah, that would be okay."_

 _He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet and handed her a business card. "So, why don't you give me a call when you want to set something up?"_

"And just like that, he was back in his car and gone." Jo told Garcia.

"So what does he do?" She probed.

"He's an investment banker."

"So have you called him?"

"No, not yet. I just started this job, I don't know if I want to start a relationship, too."

"Now, I am all for the romance, but it's just going out for coffee, not necessarily a life-long commitment."

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, it's just coffee, after all."


	5. Am I interrupting something?

The team walked off the elevator, looking haggard from their trip, with their go-bags with them. Emily walked straight up to Jo who was filing some papers away. "Please tell me you have some kind of delicious treat hidden away."

Jo smiled. "There are peanut butter cookies by the coffee." Emily touched her arm in gratitude.

Morgan stopped at Jo. "Are you available for class tomorrow morning at seven?"

"Sure." She was taken by surprise. "Are you sure? After just returning from that case?"

Morgan smirked. "Of course, I would be up doing my work-out anyway, might as well get some training in. So, I will see you at the gym." He patted her back as he headed to his office.

Jo looked around to see that she was alone with Spencer. "Hey you." She beamed. "I heard about how you talked that guy down from jumping off of a building. Are you okay?"

Reid looked confused. "Yes, I am fine."

"Sometimes things like that can take an emotional toll on those who deal with it." She had to explain why she would ask.

"Oh, I know. I guess it just didn't seem that complicated to me. I just reminded him that he had children who would be all alone if he jumped."

Jo smirked knowing that he doesn't completely understand. She instinctively gave him a hug. "Well, if you need to talk later, just let me know. I will see you later."

"Where are you rushing off to?" He asked.

"I have a date." She smiled and made her way to the elevator.

"A date?" He was left alone to question with whom.

* * *

Jo entered the gym in a hurry. "Sorry I'm late." She blurted before realizing that she was the only one there. "Sorry I'm early?" She questioned looking at her watch.

Morgan walked into the gym right behind her. "Alright, are you ready to get to work?"

Jo looked puzzled. "I thought you said class was at seven."

"It is." Morgan noticed her confusion. "It's just one-on-one."

"Oh. Okay." She put down her bag in the corner of the room. She unzipped and removed her sweater. She adjusted her tank top and stood in front of Morgan.

He looked at her figure hugging outfit and gave a grin.

"What?" She wanted to know what he was grinning at.

"Oh, just curious if Reid knows that you work out wearing that."

The two started to lightly spar with each other, getting warmed up.

"Why would it matter to anyone what I wear when I work out?"

"I just know that there is more going on between you two than either of you care to admit."

"Why is this such an important topic for you?

They continued to bob and weave as they danced around the matted floor.

"Reid is my boy, but sometimes he keeps things locked up so tight. If I don't knock, he won't open."

"Maybe you should let him be, he will share his life when he is ready. I am sure that I don't have to tell you that he has been through a lot growing up. It's difficult to open up, to let people in."

Morgan stopped. "Look, in all seriousness, I tease because I care. If you tell me you are just friends, that's fine. I will leave it there. But I also want to be prepared if one of you doesn't feel the same way."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, what if, hypothetically, you only see him as a friend, and he sees you as more. And then one day you go around with some new guy on your arm. I am going to need to be there for my friend. And the same goes for you."

Jo thought about her date with Josh and her feelings for Spencer. She knew that he was like a brother to her, but what if he felt something more. What if he had feelings for her?

"Okay, Derek. I get where you are coming from. But I don't think you need to do any hand-holding. We both have a clear understanding of our relationship."

"So that means that you are single?" Morgan flirted.

She started throwing punches. "That is none of your business. Besides, I don't date co-workers."

As their work-out continued, their playful banter increased.

"You saying that you wouldn't make an exception in my case?" He beamed.

Jo let out a laugh. "You aren't as perfect as you think you are."

He reach out his arm toward her, she grabbed onto it and pulled him forward and he flipped onto the mat. He laid on his back looking up at her. "Oh, damn girl, if you want to play rough, we can do that." He got back up and took his stance in front of her.

He started after her and pulled her into a headlock with her back to his chest. She jabbed her elbow into his solar plexus then flipped him over her. This time he was taken by surprise. He walked to the side of the room and removed his shirt, showing his well-formed abs.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" She taunted. She then ran toward him, he crouched down and tossed her over his shoulder.

He walked up to her and as she tried to get up he sat on her and held down her arms. "There. Try to get out of that."

"Am I interrupting something?" Emily asked with a smile on her face and eyebrows raised.

Morgan and Jo both looked up at her from the floor.

"Of course not." He got off of her and then helped Jo up. "I think that is enough training for today." He walked to his belongings, grabbed his towel and walked off.

"I really didn't mean to disturb anything." Emily said sincerely.

Jo laughed. "Trust me, you didn't."

* * *

After Jo cleaned herself up, and got ready for work, she walked with Emily to her office. Garcia saw them and quickly followed. "So, are you going to fill me in?"

Emily looked intrigued. "Fill us in on what?"

Garcia smiled. "Jo went on a date with the tire guy last night."

"The tire guy?" Emily questioned.

"This guy asked Jo out after he changed her flat tire the other day. Come on, spill."

Jo tried to shrug it off. "We just got coffee. There isn't much to talk about."

"So what's his name?" Emily asked.

"His name is Josh. He is an investment banker. He ordered a vanilla latte, he paid, even though the point of this was for me to thank him for changing my tire. We sat and talked for about an hour. When we parted ways, he gave me a hug and asked to go out again sometime."

"And?" Garcia demanded.

"I said yes." Jo blushed.

"Did he ask you what you do?" Emily wanted to know.

"Yes, I just told him that I did research for the government. I made it sound boring. I guess it worked because he didn't ask me much more about it."

Garcia clapped her hands. "Oh, I'm so excited. We should go shopping, you need a new outfit for your next date."

"Oh, yes!" Emily said joining into the excitement.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to do a little bit of shopping." Jo confessed.


	6. I Don't know how I feel

Jo grabbed the stack of casefiles from her desk and headed directly to Rossi's office. "Sir?" She stood in his doorway. "I believe I found a connection in that case that you brought me."

Rossi put down what he was doing and asked her to come in and sit. "So, what do you have?"

She held up two different casefiles. "I believe these are connected. That your guy from New York is the same guy in Washington; he moved across the country."

"Hold up." Rossi stopped her. "Come with me." Rossi headed to Hotch's office with Jo following. Rossi liked to believe that he had feelings about people. He instantly liked Jo and wanted to take her under his wing. He saw her potential and was going to nurture it.

Rossi approached Hotch's desk. "Jo thinks she might have found something in one of my cold cases." He turned to her. "Okay, Kid. Shoot."

Jo handed the casefiles to Hotch. "Rossi asked me to look into a cold case of six women who were strangled, annually in the woods of upstate New York."

Hotch nodded. "Yes, I remember. That was one of last cases before you left the Bureau." Rossi nodded.

Jo continued. "Well, all of a sudden, it stopped. No more women were killed or discovered. It was suspected that The UnSub was either incarcerated on a different charge, died or for some random reason stopped. But the very next year, after the last victim was found in New York, a new victim was found in Washington.

Hotch glanced at the files. "The women in New York were strangled, and those in Washington were stabbed. I am not seeing any connection here."

"Hear her out." Rossi insisted.

"Yes, when you look at these cases for what they are, they don't match up. But, the victims in New York were women, blonde, between the ages of twenty-five and thirty, similar body type. They were all found dead, in the woods after being snatched while on their daily jogs. The victims in Washington were blonde women, same age range, same body type and also taken while they were jogging."

"I will agree that there are similarities, but so are a lot of cases that we work. These were stabbed, and these were strangled."

"Yes, which is why no one made the connection. Here, look at all of the crime scene photos." Jo pointed to them.

Rossi watched as Hotch looked at each photo. The women were all a similar type but nothing jumped out at him. "I am sorry, I don't see it."

"Don't look at the bodies, look at the surrounding area."

Hotch looked again, this time examining the wooded areas around the bodies. He flipped through the different pictures and then he saw it. "A rose." He remarked.

Rossi picked up the pictures to see what he was referring to.

Jo pointed to the first case file. "A rose was left somewhere where the bodies were found in New York _and_ in Washington."

"Dave. Do you remember anything about roses at the crime scenes?"

Rossi looked at the pictures from the cases that he worked on. "To be honest, no I don't. They didn't stand out. I mean, look here, it is tucked into a bush. You can barely see it in the picture."

Hotch looked up to Jo. "How did you figure this out?"

"When Rossi brought me the file, I looked over each picture. I wanted to know the case, from every angle. Then I remember going through the other case the week before and thought about seeing a rose, and how out of place I thought it was. So when I saw the roses in this one, I had to look back at the other case."

"So why do you think he changed his M.O.?" Hotch questioned Jo.

"Well, I am not the profiler, sir."

"But what do you think? You've spent more time with both of these cases that either of us."

"Well, the method wasn't important to him. He continued to strangle his victims because it worked. He wanted to relieve what he felt with each additional kill. He either moved for personal reasons, or because he felt he was going to get caught. He changed the method so we wouldn't make the connection and track him."

"And we didn't." Rossi added. "Until now."

Hotch looked at Jo. "This is really good work."

"Thank you, sir."

"Let's go bring all of this to Garcia and see what else we can find."

* * *

The team started to gather their belongings, looking forward to heading home after their long day.

"Hey, GI Jo." Reid called to her before she left for the elevator. "Do you want to continue our monster marathon? I got Son of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein."

"Oh, I wish I could. But I already have plans with Josh." She was apologetic. "How about tomorrow?"

Reid gave a simple. "Okay." He waved. "Have a good night."

Hotch and JJ separately witnessed their exchange.

JJ went to her friend, who looked disappointed. "Hey, Spence. You okay?"

"Why shouldn't I be okay?"

"How do you feel about Jo dating someone?"

"I don't know." He turned to JJ. "I don't know how I feel."

"Well, you can come over to my house tonight. Henry would love to see his Godfather."

Reid nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good."

Hotch returned to his office as the two friends left together.


	7. Cannoli and Something Pink

Rossi leaned against the filing cabinet in Jo's office, giving her his recipe for cannoli. "Then you mix together the ricotta cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. Chill it for about thirty minutes, then you pipe it into the shells."

Jo sat, writing down as he spoke. "Great, I will try this and I will make a batch just for you. I'll even put on my Dean Martin records to get into the mood."

"Records? You mean CDs?" Rossi questioned.

"No, I have Dino on vinyl."

Rossi grinned. "I knew I liked you."

Garcia bolted into Jo's office. "I have to know about your date last night."

Jo motioned her eyes to show her that Rossi was in her office.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant that I was curious about the _date_ to that thing we talked about before."

"Nice save." Jo smirked.

Hotch entered the office right behind Garcia. "Jo, I need to see you for a minute." She got up and followed him.

Rossi walked up to Garcia. "So who is this guy she is seeing?"

"His name is Josh. She met him a few weeks ago. He changed her tire while she was stranded on the side of the freeway." Garcia explained with stars in her eyes.

"What do you know about him?" Rossi asked, like a concerned father.

"I don't know. I haven't met him yet. Jo seems to like him. They've been out a few times already."

Rossi walked past Garcia. "You keep me in the loop, okay?"

"Sure." Garcia agreed.

* * *

Jo walked into the restaurant and took a quick look around. She saw Reid sitting at a table reading a book. She plopped down across from him. "Hello, Reiding Rainbow."

He looked up from his book and smiled.

"I hope I didn't keep you too long."

"Oh no, I just got here seven minutes ago."

Jo picked up the menu. "So, what's good here?"

"You would like their club sandwich." He suggested.

Jo closed the menu. "Great, thanks." She folded her hands in front of her. "Oh, my folks say hello. I was talking to them yesterday."

"Oh, that's great. How are they doing?"

"They're good." She said with a smile. "They are happy to know that I am with you. You know how Dad worries about me being in the field."

Reid adjusted himself in the seat. "Jo, you know you can't make all your decisions based off of what would make them feel better."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's why you are a researcher. It's a safe job for you and I know you're doing it for your dad."

"Spencer, I made that decision on my own, and I am making a difference. I just made a huge connection in two cases." She said pleased with herself.

"Yes, I know, and I am proud of you. You are incredibly smart; you could be using that in the field." He sat back in the seat and folded his arms across his chest. "Jo, you have your .22 in your purse right now."

She smirked knowing he was right. "Spencer. I appreciate this, but I am happy with what I am doing, honestly."

"You keep telling yourself that while you continue to be certified to carry your weapon and take combat training classes. You want more, and you will be so good. Don't let your dad hold you back."

She reached her hand across the table for his. He instinctively gave it to her. He never had a problem whenever she touched him. He actually welcomed it.

She squeezed his hand. "Thank you." She smiled.

"For what?" He was confused.

"For always knowing everything. I did choose a safe job because of Dad. You know he didn't want me to join the Bureau. He was always find with me having a gun, just never wanted anyone pointing one at me."

"Look, I get it. Every parent wants their child to be safe. But you are your own person and more than capable of handling yourself." He started to chuckle. "I still remember when you punched Charlie Westcott right in the face."

Jo laughed. "Well, he was a jerk! You can't be mean to my friends and then expect me to have sex with you."

"I learned pretty quickly never to piss you off."

"You could never do that." She beamed at him.

* * *

Garcia met up with Jo at Clancy's bar. "Is Reid coming too?"

"No, he said he was going to do some reading. He got a new collection in and probably wanted to finish it all by tomorrow." Jo looked around. "So who is coming out tonight?"

"JJ and Derek said that they might come join us."

"That sounds fun."

The ladies approached the bar. "What can I get for you?" The bartender asked placing a cocktail napkin in front of each of them.

"I'll have a Smithwicks, please." Jo then turned to Garcia.

"I want something fun."

The bartender nodded, this wasn't his first ambiguous request from Garcia before. He returned a few minutes later and placed the dark beer in front of Jo and a tall glass, with pink liquid, and a skewer with a pineapple, strawberry and cherry sticking out of it.

Jo pointed to the fruit. "Look, it's a two-fer. You get a drink and an appetizer."

"I love a drink that comes with food." Garcia added.

The girls laughed together as Morgan approached. "What's so funny?"

Garcia smiled at him. "Fruit." She then took a drink from her straw, trying to look seductive. "Do you come here often?"

"Only when you're here, Baby Girl."

"Hey, JJ." Jo exclaimed as she joined the group.

"I can't stay too long tonight. My sitter has somewhere to be first thing in the morning and Will has the late shift."

Garcia grabbed JJ's hand. "That's okay, we won't waste any time." They headed to a nearby table.

Garcia had already moved onto her second drink as JJ and Morgan got theirs.

Jo pulled out her phone and smiled as she read her text.

"Let me guess, Josh?" She teased.

"Yes it is." Jo blushed.

"Well, tell him to get over here." Garcia encouraged.

"Yeah, I want to meet this guy." Morgan agreed.

Jo looked skeptical. "I don't know. It's only been a couple of dates. I think it's too soon to meet the friends."

"No it's not." JJ shook her head. "Come on, let's meet him."

Jo spent a few minutes texting with Josh. "Okay, he said he will stop by."

Their drinks were almost empty when Jo looked up to the entrance and gave a wave to grab Josh's attention.

JJ turned around to get a look at him. "Wow!" She exclaimed, at seeing the six-foot tall drink of water coming towards the table. His brown hair was swept to the side and Garcia couldn't help but be hypnotized by his striking blue eyes.

Jo pulled out the chair next to her. "Josh, this is Derek, JJ and Penelope."

"But you can call me whatever you want." Garcia said staring at him.

Morgan quickly interrupted her drooling. "So, I hear you saved the day by changing Jo's tire."

"I wouldn't say that, I just saw that she could use some help. So I offered my assistance." He took a breath. "So you all work with Jo?"

The group nodded. "Must be kind of boring, huh?"

"Yeah, some days I just drift off at my desk." JJ said sarcastically.

"I just meant that doing research, stuck in an office with stacks of books in front of you all day. I don't think I could do that."

"But we manage." Morgan joked.

"Josh, do you want to play some pool?" Jo quickly changed the subject.

"Yeah, that sounds good." The two got up and went to the pool table.

JJ leaned into the others. "What does he think Jo does?"

"She hasn't told him that she is in the FBI. He assumes that she works in a museum or something." Garcia explained.

"Well, it's time for me to get going." JJ started to collect her things.

"No." Garcia whined.

"I'm sorry, but I have to." She stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow." She walked up to Jo. "Have a good night." She turned to Josh. "It was nice to meet you."

He nodded. "You too."

Morgan watched Josh at the pool table. "So what do you think of him?"

"He's dreamy." She stared.

"I don't know."

Garcia turned her attention to Morgan. "What's wrong?"

"There's just something about him." Morgan admitted.

"Is it about him? Or her?" She asked with a bit of sass. "Emily told me about your little 'work-out'."

"Oh come on, you know you're my Boo."

"You better believe it."


	8. Surrogate Fathers and Best Friends

Morgan walked into the gym at the crack of dawn. He was usually the first to arrive, he liked to be there early and mentally prepare for his day. Today was different, someone was there before him.

He made his way into the facility and noticed Jo was aggressively beating on the heavy bag.

"Looks like you found a new sparring partner." Morgan announced, standing right behind her. She quickly turned around to strike him but stopped once she recognized that it was Morgan. "Whoa." He flinched. "What's got you here so early this morning?" He then noticed the frustration on her face. "You okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, no reason, you just looked like you were going to beat that bag until your knuckles bled." She attempted to laugh it off. "Well, since I'm here, did you want to spar together?"

"Sure." She made her way to the center of the room and got into her stance in front of him.

They started out slowly, throwing light punches and jabs. She closed her eyes and envisioned Josh, that's when her punches became harder and fiercer. She was relentless.

All Morgan could do was block her blows. "Whoa girl!" He was in shock.

She stepped away as she heard her ringing phone. Jo walked to her bag, saw who it was and ignored the call.

"Do you need to get that?"

"No, it's just my dad. I can talk to him later. I'm sure it's nothing important." She put her hands on her hips and sighed.

"What happened after Garcia and I left last night?"

"Oh nothing." She was keeping something back, and he knew it.

"Why don't you hit the shower? I think your work-out is done for this morning."

Jo nodded, knowing it was the best thing. She headed to pick up her bag as her phone started to ring again and she let out a small groan seeing that it was her dad again.

* * *

Jo stood in the corner at the end of the hall while talking on the phone. "Yes I understand where you are coming from, I just don't agree with it." She listened as a single tear fell down her cheek. "Well I am sorry that I am such a disappointment to you, Dad." She hung up the phone and wiped her face. She continued to face the wall, not wanting to turn around. She wiped her face again. Knowing that everyone would still be able to see the anguish in her eyes. She took in a deep breath, then let it out.

Jo turned to see Rossi standing behind her. "Oh my." Her hand rested on her chest. "You startled me."

"Come with me." He said simply.

The two walked to a vacant office and Rossi shut the door. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" She put a fake smile on her face.

"Talk about what's bothering you. About that phone call with your father."

"Oh that? It was nothing." She tried to shrug it off.

"You do understand that I profile people for a living, right?"

She smirked. "Yes."

"We have a rule around here not to profile each other, but I am going to let you know what I think of you. First, I have gone over your file. You graduated top of your class with honors. While going for your Masters in criminal psychology, you joined the Olympics sharp-shooting team and able to complete your masters in that time.

For the past few months I have seen how much you push yourself. You have gone through life with everyone around you seeing you as someone perfect; they have never noticed the eggshells that you walk on every day."

Jo blinked, allowing the tears that have built up to stream down her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, commanding herself not to breakdown crying.

"Look, anything that you need, that you want to do, let me know and I will help you make it happen. But it has to be for you."

He stepped over to her and gave her a hug that she gladly accepted.

* * *

Reid walked down the hallway toward Jo's apartment. With each step closer, he could hear the loud Latin dance music blasting from her place. He knocked on her door, but knew she wouldn't be able to hear him. He tried the knob and her door was unlocked. He opened it a couple inches and peeked inside to see her in the kitchen, busy scooping out cups of flour into a bowl.

He took a step inside and yelled her name. Her eyes shot up, as he took her by surprise. She ran to her stereo and turned the music down. "I'm sorry." She smiled, letting him come in.

"You really should lock your door."

"I know, I must have forgotten." She went back to her flour.

"What are you making?"

"Bread. It will be ready in a few hours if you want some."

He took his messenger bag off and placed it on her sitting chair. He walked up and stared at her. "Jo, what's wrong?"

She looked up while starting to knead the dough. "Nothing's wrong."

"Well, for starters, you always play this album to make you feel better. You practically ignored me all day. And then there was what happened with Morgan this morning."

"What did Derek tell you about this morning?" She got defensive.

"Just that you seemed to be having a bad day."

Jo let out a sigh. "I have. Dad called me today, reminding me that I am not his favorite child, this on top of what happened last night." She said while cleaning her hands from the dough.

"What happened last night?" Reid was concerned.

"Josh did something that I didn't like."

Reid approached her. "What did he do?"

"Look, it wasn't a big deal, I don't want to get into it."

"Jo, something other than talking to your dad is obviously bothering you. I am just trying to help."

"He was making fun of you." She blurted out.

"What? He doesn't even know me."

"Well not you directly. We were playing pool and at the next table there were a group of guys who he continued to tease because of how they dressed, what they were talking about. For being… nerds." She let out a sigh. "It really got to me. I felt like he was everyone we knew while we were growing up."

Reid thought for a minute, trying to think of the best thing to say to his friend. "Look, maybe he had a little too much to drink. He did meet some of your friends for the first time. Perhaps he was trying to impress you and did it in the wrong way."

"I don't know. I am not sure if I should continue seeing him."

"Does he make you happy?"

Jo looked up at her friend. "Yes. He makes me laugh, we have a good time together. I enjoy being with him."

"I think you should give it some more time." He didn't want to say it, but he did.

She grabbed him tightly into a hug. "Thank you, Spencer."

"You're welcome." He said with his eyes closed in their embrace.


	9. A Night at Rossi

The team was away for a few days and just returned from Atlanta. After a long chase and a gun fight that ended with only a minor injury to Emily, they were able to catch the UnSub and come home.

Rossi was away at Washington working on the case that Jo was able to connect.

Hotch knocked on Jo's open door and took a step in.

"Oh, good. You're all back." Jo remarked, happy to see him.

"Yes, we just arrived. I wanted to know if you would be able to meet us in the conference room for a quick meeting, in about ten minutes."

"Of course. I will be right there." She quickly finished writing notes on the file she was working on then left her office toward the meeting.

On her way, she ran into Emily. "How's your arm?"

Emily touched her arm that was resting in a sling. "Oh, it's fine. I've been shot by a crazy woman before. Hopefully I will be able to take this thing off soon." She pulled Jo out of the center of the hallway. "So, how are things with Josh?" She asked with a romantic smile.

"Things are going pretty well, so far." She pulled out her phone and found a picture. "See, this is us from the other night."

"Oh, wow, he is cute!" She returned the phone back to Jo. "Well, it looks like you two are having fun."

"Come on ladies, no chit-chatting in the halls." Morgan walked passed them into the conference room. They followed right behind.

They each made their way to a seat at the round table with Hotch standing in the doorway.

Garcia looked up to him. "Is there something you need me to pull up, sir?"

"No, thank you, we are just waiting for Dave."

Reid looked confused. "I thought he was in Washington."

"I was." Rossi stated as he walked into the room. Hotch smiled and took a seat, leaving Rossi as the center of attention. "Well, as some of you might know, I was in Washington to work on closing a case that I started working on before I left several years ago. Well, today I am happy to announce that we were able to take Jonathan Turner into custody today for killing over fourteen women."

The team smiled and showed their pleasure in hearing the news.

Rossi continued. "And we wouldn't have been able to accomplish any of this without Jo. She was the one that found the smallest connection between two completely separate cases."

Jo instantly became embarrassed as the attention shifted to her. Reid, who was sitting next to her, smiled and rubbed her back.

Rossi looked right to Jo. "And since I am in such a happy mood, I have decided to throw a party at my house this weekend to celebrate.

Garcia got really excited. "Oh, I love his parties."

* * *

Hotch picked up the two coffee cups from the bar, turned around and headed towards the table a few feet away where Emily was sitting. He placed one in front of her and then sat down in the empty chair across from her.

"Thank you." She took the cup into both of her hands. She brought the cup up under her nose and smelled the robust aroma then took a sip. "Ah, that was just what I needed."

"I just wanted to check on you and see how you were holding up."

Emily grinned. "I am better now that I don't have to wear that sling. I am still a little tender, but it will ease up."

Hotch smiled as he nodded. "That's good. You will let me know if that changes, or if you need anything."

"Of course I will."

At that moment, a man walked up to the table. "Aaron? I thought that was you." He reached out his arm towards him.

"Josh." Hotch shook his hand. "How you doing?"

"Pretty well, I was just stopping in and thought it was you so I had to say hi."

"I am glad you did. Josh, this is Emily." They both shook hands.

"Well, I need to get going. I guess I will see you around."

Hotch gave a polite nod.

"It was nice to meet you."

"You, too." Emily smiled then turned to Hotch. "So, how do you know him?"

Hotch focused on his coffee. "He lives in my building."

Emily let out a small chuckle. "What a small world."

He looked up toward her. "How's that?"

"Well, I think that is the guy that Jo is dating."

In that moment, Hotch stared through the window at Josh as he was getting into his car. He was fixated on him.

Emily quickly noticed his demeanor change. "You don't like him, do you?" She asked with concern.

"No, I don't" Hotch stated matter-of-factly.

* * *

Rossi opened his door to Reid waiting outside. "Hey, come on in."

"I would have brought a bottle of wine, but I figured you would have it covered."

Rossi smiled. "That I do." He took a step back to allow him to come in. "Go help yourself to a drink, everyone is gathering outside."

Reid walked up to Hotch and Emily, exchanged hellos then headed outside to talk with JJ and her family.

Hotch poured himself and Emily another glass of red wine. He then let out a sigh. "I don't know what I am supposed to do with this information."

Emily shook her head. "You can't do anything tonight. This party is for her, you don't want to ruin her evening."

"You're right." He turned to look at Reid who was laughing and playing with Henry. Hotch and Emily then walked outside to join them.

Rossi had a large table set up with candles in the center. Lanterns hung throughout the trees and he hired a caterer service for the evening.

"This is really beautiful." Garcia remarked while hanging onto Morgan's arm with a drink in her other hand.

As the friends laughed and socialized, Rossi escorted Jo and Josh to the backyard.

Hotch met Josh's eyes. Josh knew he was in trouble.

Rossi touched them on their backs. "Be sure to help yourself to a drink inside."

Josh quickly turned to Jo. "What can I get you?"

"A glass of wine. You know what, let me go with you, I want to see if there is Cabernet." The two went back inside.

Hotch started to walk toward the door but Emily grabbed his arm. "What are you going to do?" She asked.

"I need to talk to Josh." There was determination in Hotch's eyes. Emily knew it was best to let him do it. Emily let him go and followed.

He approached the couple at the bar as Jo turned around. "Hotch." She smiled. "Josh, this is my boss, Aaron, and this is Emily."

Emily watched Hotch, wondering what he was going to do. He extended his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Josh uttered.

Emily noticed that Hotch was staring him down and she turned to Jo. "Do you think you could do me a favor and help me fix something with my dress?"

"Yes, of course." Jo put her glass down and followed Emily into one of the back rooms.

"Thank you." Josh said to Hotch after the girls were out of earshot.

"I didn't do it for you. I wasn't going to ruin this night for Jo." He took a step closer to Josh. "You are going to tell her after tonight." He took one more step. "Or I will."

Josh swallowed hard then followed it up by a gulp from his drink. He then put on a fake smile as the ladies returned.

Hotch turned to Emily. "Everything okay with your dress?"

"Oh, yes. I thought something was caught, but it wasn't."

Rossi walked by. "Okay, you guys, it's time to eat."

Everyone gathered outside. Jo walked up to Reid while holding Josh's hand. "This is one of my best friends, Spencer. And this is Josh."

Josh looked him up and down with a disagreeing face, from his messy, long hair to his one purple and one red socks. However, he shook his hand and played nice.

They were all instructed to take their seats at the table. Jo sat between Josh and Reid.

Hotch stared at Josh throughout the entire dinner. Emily sat next to him and would nudge him when he was not paying attention to the others at the able.

With dinner eaten, some of the group stayed at the table while others stood throughout the backyard, chatting.

Hotch went inside to get another glass of wine.

"So, what's bothering you?"

Hotch turned around to see Rossi standing behind him. "Oh, nothing."

"Of course it's nothing, Aaron. That's why I saw you shooting daggers at Jo's date the entire evening. The only time I've seen you look like that is when you are staring down a serial killer."

Hotch grabbed Rossi by the arm to pull him away from the door. "I know him. He lives in my building." Hotch took a drink.

"And?" Rossi questioned.

"With his wife."

"Yeah, that would be a problem. So, I take it that Jo doesn't know."

"I highly doubt it. I already told him that he needs to tell her or that I will." He took another drink. "I hate going through the night watching her enjoying herself and laughing with that creep on her arm. I'm telling you, it is taking everything in me not to handle this myself."

"I understand and I completely agree. You know, in Italy, they have a way of dealing with guys like this that I think would be pretty fitting."

Rossi and Hotch turned to see that Reid was standing a few feet away from them and had heard every word. He stood there trying to process everything that was just said. Then as if a light was switched on, he bolted outside with Hotch and Rossi close behind.

Josh and Jo were standing talking with Garcia. Reid ran up to Josh, grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him toward him. Everyone was stunned by Reid's actions and didn't know what to do.

"Spencer! What are you doing?" Jo demanded.

"Tell her." Reid ordered. "Tell her now."

Hotch walked closer and stood to Reid's side, staring down Josh.

Reid shook him. "Tell her!"

"Alright." Josh relinquished and Reid let go of his shirt. Josh turned to Jo. "I'm married."

"You're what?" Jo was in shock.

Reid looked at his friend's pained face. It fueled his anger and he turned back to Josh and punched him, forcing him backwards and crashed into some of the folding chairs. Reid shook his hand. "Ow." He uttered.

Josh got himself up with fire in his eyes. Morgan stepped between him and Reid. "I think you better leave." Josh got up, looked at all the people staring at him and walked out of the house.

Jo's knees gave out and she landed in the grass with her hand covering her mouth. She was trying to process the whole thing.

Reid crouched down in front of her. "Are you okay?"

She looked up to her friend. "How did you know?"

Reid instinctively turned to look at Hotch then back to her. She saw the look on Hotch's face. It was the same look on Emily and Rossi's too. She could tell they all knew. She picked herself up, not wanting Reid's help. "I'm sorry, I need to be alone right now." She told Reid and walked into the house.

Reid went to follow her but Morgan put his hand up to stop him. "She needs a breather. Give it to her."


	10. A Little Fall of Rain

Jo stood outside on the front porch, alone, looking up at the stars gently weeping. Hotch took a step outside. "Jo?" She didn't answer. She hoped if she just ignored him that he would go away and she wouldn't have to deal with any of this. That this wasn't real.

"Jo, I know you are hurt and angry. But the person you should be upset with his me, not anyone else."

She wiped her red face and turned to look at him through her glossy eyes. "And why should I be upset with you?" She asked sitting down on the empty bench.

"I only found out about everything this morning. It is because of me that some of the others found out. The last thing I wanted was for you to get hurt." Hotch went over the entire story with her, of how he knew Josh, and how the others found out. She started to understand.

"Can I ask you something?" She moved over on the bench to allow him to sit next to her.

"Of course." He sat down next to her.

"If you would have just met Josh tonight, for the first time, would you know that he was married."

"Yes." Hotch answered quickly. He didn't try to spare her feelings or hide her from the truth.

She looked down while nodding her head. "How would you know?"

"He kept his hands in his pockets while trying to keep his left hand out of sight as much as possible. But when he did have it exposed, he fidgeted with his ring finger because he wasn't wearing his ring."

"I don't think I could ever become a profiler. It is like you are being forced to see the worst in people at all times. How do you deal with it?"

"Agents deal with it in different ways. But I guess you need a way to compartmentalize it."

"I guess I just try to see the good in people."

"Can I give you some advice?"

She smiled and nodded.

"I don't think that you should go home tonight without talking with Spencer."

"I know. I will. Thank you, Hotch."

He grinned while standing back up. "Good, because I believe he is standing right behind me." Hotch got up and went inside.

Reid came out and sat down next to Jo on the bench. Without a word, she leaned over and hugged his arm and rested her held on his shoulder. "Thank you." She said meekly.

"For what?"

"Being there for me. Being my friend."

He moved his arm around her and held her close to him. "I will always be there for you."

* * *

The rain had been pouring on D.C. off and on for three days. There was a permanent black cloud in the sky that affected everyone's mood. Jo took a step off of the elevator at the crack of dawn and walked through the empty floor to her office.

Hotch was next to arrive and headed straight for his office carrying his briefcase. He opened his office door to see a small white box tied with blue ribbon on his desk. He picked up the small tag hanging off the ribbon, it read, "Thank you, Sir. Jo." He removed the ribbon and lifted the lid to see a homemade apple pie. He smirked at the gesture.

A few hours had passed and Hotch knocked on Rossi's door. Hotch let himself in to see Rossi's mouth full with a cannoli. "I see that Jo left you a gift too."

"Yes, apparently, she left everyone something. Garcia was the lucky one who got her red velvet cupcakes."

"She's trying hard to make sure no one feels sorry for her." Hotch observed.

"You noticed that, too."

"How has she been?"

"I think it has fueled her fire, actually. She has been coming in early, staying late. I am starting to think that she is putting in more hours than you do."

Hotch smiled. "Well, let's make sure that she isn't wearing herself out." He held up the file he brought with him. "Did you see the new case?"

"Yes. Are we going to take it?"

"Three shootings in three days, and in our own backyard, they are begging for us to help."

"Do you think I can make a suggestion?" Rossi asked.

"Of course."

"I think we should bring Jo in on this one with us. Since it is in D.C. We wouldn't have to justify her travel expenses."

Hotch looked concerned. "Yes, we can do that. Why are you pushing for this?"

"She wants to be in the field. However, she is letting outside factors affect the decisions she is making for herself."

"Jo would need a training officer."

"I will do it." Rossi said confidently.

"Alright, have her come to our meeting."

* * *

Rossi walked into Jo's office. "Hey Kiddo. I wanted you to know that you are needed at our meeting in five minutes, you are also joining us on this case, and thanks for the cannoli." He walked out before she was able to give a response.

Jo closed the casefile she was reading and left her office. She headed directly to Reid and pulled him aside. "So, guess who is working this next case with you?"

Reid's eyes widened. "You? That's great!" He gave her a hug.

"Rossi just came and told me. But now I am incredibly nervous. What if I mess up?"

"Well, I suggest that you use the time on the case to observe and learn everything that you can."

The two walked into the meeting together.

Garcia pulled up all of the victims on the TV screen. "Okay, my beautiful people. This rain has made everything drearier, especially for these three men. All of whom have been shot and left to die in an alley."

Morgan looked up to the screen. "They all have similar features, light brown hair, height, and weight. They could be surrogates for someone."

JJ looked at the pictures of the victims. "What is this on their cheeks?"

"The lab found DNA traces of saliva, like from a kiss." Garcia reported.

"Were they able to get any leads from the DNA?" Emily asked.

"Only that it was female."

Hotch looked at the group. "Okay, let's get going."

Jo stayed with Rossi throughout the case. She did as Reid suggested, he kept back and observed. She wanted to learn, she wanted to become a better agent. After several hours of talking to the victim's families, examining the bodies and crime scenes, they finally got a lead to a small building.

Hotch and Morgan entered first to clear the room. Rossi and Jo went in afterwards. The building was empty. They found a twin size bed, neatly made with stuffed animals in front of the pillows.

Jo looked around. "I looks like a teenager's bedroom." She started to go through the dresser drawers.

"Except for the writing on the walls." Morgan pointed to all of the quotes largely written in paint.

Hotch looked at them. "Looks like they are some sort of mantras."

Rossi started to read them. " _I did not live until today. Keeping watch in the night. I dreamed that love will never die_. _All my life I've only been pretending_."

Morgan pulled back the curtain to reveal another quote written on the curtain. "Hey guys, I got another one _. In the rain the pavement shines like silver_. Should I get Garcia on this?"

Jo started to sing. " _All the lights are misty in the river_." She then looked to Rossi. "Those are all lyrics."

"Song lyrics from what?" Hotch asked.

"Les Miserables."

Morgan answered his phone. "What you got Baby Girl?"

"I am sorry to say that there was another body found. Unfortunately it was just as it started to rain. Which made what else was found a bit weird."

"Which was?"

"There was a note left with his body. It said _A little fall of rain can hardly hurt me now_. Does that mean anything to you?"

Hotch turned to Jo.

"That is another line from the play."

"Hold on, Garcia." Morgan announced.

Hotch approached Jo. "How well do you know this play?"

"Practically by heart."

"Okay, tell me how this fits?"

"I am not sure."

Rossi looked to her. "Jo, put this together with what you see, a teenager's room, the lyrics to the play, men being shot. How does it all fit?"

"Wait. Garcia." She called out. "Were all of the men killed in the rain?"

"Yes, according to the M.E. said."

"That's it. She thinks she is Eponine. That is a young woman who is in love with Marius, however, he does not return her affection and is in love with Cosette."

"But how does the rain come in to play?" Rossi asked.

"Eponine is shot and dies in Marius' arms while it's raining. It's a really sad part of the play. I think that you are looking for a girl who is in love with someone who doesn't return her affection."

Morgan turned to Hotch. "Remember that girl we interviewed, she appeared to be in love with her boss."

"Yes, and he matches the features of our other victims."

The agents started toward the door.

Rossi walked by Jo. "Good job, Kiddo."


	11. Wake Up Call

Jo poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the break room table while letting out a yawn.

"Don't start that." JJ ordered. "Yawning is contagious."

"Sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night." She started to drink her coffee.

JJ nudged Jo. "I think that's for you."

"Huh?" She then noticed that her phone was ringing. "Hello?" Jo's eyes lit up. "Oh, hey, how are you?"

Morgan and Reid joined the girls at the table. "Who she talking to?" Morgan asked.

JJ shrugged her shoulders.

Jo began to laugh. "No, I don't have any bananas."

Reid got excited. "Lisa?"

Jo nodded.

"Let me talk to her." Reid practically grabbed the phone out of her hand. "Lisa, I have a new one for you." He started to laugh at himself before he started. "Three logicians walk into a bar. The bartender asks, do all of you want a drink? The first logician says I don't know. The second logician says I don't know. The first logician says yes." Reid laughed, so amused with himself. He held the phone out so they could hear that Lisa was laughing along with Reid. He then got up from the table and walked away to talk with Lisa.

"So there's a female version of Reid out there?" Morgan asked.

"Pretty close." Jo laughed. "That's my older sister."

Morgan was genuinely surprised. "You have a sister? Is she a genius, too? You know I would have put this in the 'dirt' category when I was probing you months ago."

"Technically, yes she is a genius. She would spend a lot of time with Spencer, as well."

"What does she do?" JJ asked.

"She's a child psychologist. She is actually pretty renowned in her field."

"So, an Olympian who is in the FBI and a well-known psychologist for children. Your parents must be really proud." Morgan assumed.

"They are." She nodded. _Of her_. She thought.

Reid returned to the table. "Let me give you back to Jo. I can't wait to see you when you come visit." Reid handed over the phone.

"Oh, you mean I get to talk to my own sister? Thanks." She joked.

Jo took the phone and stepped away from the table to have her conversation.

Morgan grinned at Reid. "So, you got a little love triangle going on with the Pierce sisters, huh?"

"You do realize that when I was I was fourteen, she was twenty-two."

Morgan shrugged. "So it's just Jo, then?"

"Just Jo what?" Reid was confused.

"That you're _in love_ with." He grinned.

"Children, please." JJ started. "Don't make me put you both in a timeout."

Jo came back to the table. "I love you, too." She hung up the phone and sat next to Reid. "She said that she is going to work on taking a trip to come see me. I can't wait."

* * *

Jo brought the bowl of popcorn over to the couch and sat as Reid switched the DVD's. He then turned to her. "You know that after the Monster learned to speak in Bride of Frankenstein he went back to being mute in Son of Frankenstein, yet it was never explained."

"Perhaps they wanted to return to the more ominous feeling of him being a monster. With having him speak, he becomes less of a creature and more of a man. He is more feared as The Monster."

Reid sat next to her and started to share the popcorn as they watched the movie. Reid wrapped his arm around Jo as they snuggled on the couch, eating popcorn and watching the movie together.

He awoke several hours later to see the DVD menu stagnant on the TV screen. With his arms wrapped around her he realized that they fell asleep. He swept the hair from in front of her face, and as he held her tighter, he fell back asleep.

"Have you guys heard from Spence?" JJ asked Morgan and Emily.

"I'll give him a call." Morgan pulled out his cell phone and dialed his number.

Reid heard his phone ringing and went to grab it. He answered with a sleepy, "Hello?"

"Hey, Kid. Where you at?"

"What?" He asked rubbing his eyes.

"You are going to be late for the meeting."

Reid looked at his watch to see the time. "Jo, we slept in." He announced as the two jumped off the couch. "Thanks. I'll be right there."

Back at the BAU, Hotch walked away from Jo's closed office door towards the group. "Has anyone seen Jo this morning?"

"I believe she's running a little late this morning." Morgan quickly covered.

"Okay, when you see her, let me know." He walked back to his office.

About thirty minutes later, Morgan watched as Reid and Jo stepped off the elevator together. "Hey, Jo. Hotch wants to see you."

"Thank you." She made her way to his office.

Morgan approached Reid and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Good morning, playa. You wanna tell me about your game?" He asked with a cheesy grin.

Reid looked at him. "There is no game."

"Oh, Reid. There is always a game." He chuckled.

Jo approached Hotch's office knowing she was in trouble for coming in late. She knocked on his open door.

"Come in."

Jo took a step in. "Sir, I'm sorry I was late this morning. It will not happen again."

"That's not why I wanted to see you. Please have a seat."

Jo sat down in the empty chair across from Hotch. She couldn't help but feel intimidated by him.

"I wanted to let you know that you have been approved to work in the field on a case by case basis."

Jo was confused. "But sir, I didn't put in the paperwork for that."

"A senior agent recommended you, which I have also supported. But remember that you will not be involved in the profiles, and that Rossi will continue to be your supervising agent."

"I understand, sir."

"I am going to need you to get a go-bag ready."

"I already have one sir." He gave her a questioning look. " _Luck favors the prepared_." She smiled.

He gave a proud smirk. "Okay, well we need to get into this meeting."

Garcia pointed the remote at the TV screen. "As some of you may know, there was a shooting today in Colorado Springs. Four people were shot in a busy shopping district. Once the emergency personnel arrived, three of them were also shot.

Hotch looked to the group. "It looks like we have a sniper on our hands. Jo will be coming with us on this case." He closed the casefile. "Okay, we are heading to Colorado."


	12. I have a bad feeling about this

Rossi and Jo stayed at the police station while the rest of the team went out into the field. Jo stared at the board filled with all the case information.

"Tell me what you're thinking." Rossi stood behind Jo.

"Okay, let's work this out. The shooter was on the roof of this building at 11:45 a.m. and shot the first four victims. Then at 12:15 p.m. the shooter was at this building, across the shopping center, to shoot the emergency personnel.

"That's right."

"I really don't think it was the same shooter."

"Ballistics came back showing they were from the same gun."

"It makes more sense that the rifle was handed off, rather than this person going into a new building. The wounds are different. The first four were all shot in the abdomen while the three later were all headshots."

"It could be that the first time he shot, he wanted the victims to stay alive to allow for the EMTs to arrive and then making them his intended targets. And switching buildings was to cause panic."

"Yes, you are right. That is all possible." Jo continued to stare at the board feeling like there still two shooters. But she couldn't prove it.

Rossi answered his phone. "Okay, we will be right there." He hung up and looked at Jo. "We got another shooting, grab your vest."

The team gathered around the portable command center with Hotch dispatching the team to separate points and buildings.

Jo followed Rossi up the stairs to the roof of a building where the shooter could possibly be. Right before Rossi opened the door he turned to Jo. "Are you ready?"

"I have a bad feeling about this." She confessed.

"I need to know that you can cover me." He pushed

"Yes." She said confidently.

Rossi busted open the door and the two agents went to clear the roof. Rossi saw the sniper crouched behind the pony wall. "FBI! Put the weapon down!" The sniper did as he was told. "Now, lie down on the ground and put your hands behind your back." Rossi cuffed him. "We got the sniper." Rossi called over the radio.

Jo looked at the man on the ground. "That was easy." She remarked.

"Yeah, a little too easy."

Jo looked around for any surprises. She then saw a flash of light from the roof of another building. She knew exactly what it was. It was the reflection from a scope. "Get down!" She yelled and pushed Rossi down.

"Shots fired. Second sniper, on the building just west of our position." Jo called in.

Hotch lead Morgan and Reid up the stairs to the second shooter's location. Apprehending him was just as easy. He quickly gave up and put his hands behind his head.

Rossi rubbed the back of his head and looked at Jo, who was still on top of him. "Are you okay?"

Jo could hear the shooter laughing, knowing this was all a part of their plan. "I think so. My heart's beating so fast, I can't even think straight." She rolled off from on top of him and stared up at the sky, trying to control her heart-rate.

Rossi looked at his hand and noticed blood. He looked at himself and then looked to Jo. "You're bleeding."

She looked down to her shoulder to see blood seeping out from a bullet hole.

Rossi got over the radio. "Medic! We need a medic!" The team could hear him as he spoke to her. "Jo, stay with me. Come on Jo, keep your eyes on me."

Reid took off down the stairs from the roof to get to her.

* * *

Reid paced up and down the hallway as the rest of the team sat in the waiting room. The doctor walked out of the surgery room and towards the group. "Are you here for Jo Pierce?"

"Yes." The group acknowledged.

"We were able to catch the bleeder in her shoulder. She is being moved to recovery and should be fine in a couple of days."

Hotch turned to Reid. "Why don't you get some rest?"

"I'm not leaving." He walked past him and into the recovery area.

"I'll keep an eye on him." Rossi patted Hotch on the shoulder.

Reid sat in a chair facing Jo's hospital bed. He stared at her monitors waiting for any kind of change.

Rossi sat out in the hall. He then overheard a man at the nurse's station asking about Jo. He stood up and went to introduce himself.

"Oh hi. I'm Robert Pierce, Jo's father."

"Yes, I was the one that called you. It is fortunate that you were able to get here so quickly."

"Well, from Vegas, it's only a couple hour flight."

Rossi walked with Mr. Pierce toward Jo's room. "The doctors say she will be just fine."

"Good." He said, with a brash tone and walked into the room. He looked to Reid. "Spencer."

Reid stood up. "Mr. Pierce. She hasn't woken up yet."

"Could you give me a minute?"

"Of course." Reid walked into the hallway toward Rossi. The two were able to hear her father.

"Jo. Wake up." He ordered.

She started to blink, as if she was forced to respond to his command. "Dad?"

"How the hell does a _researcher_ get shot when you should be at a desk?"

"They needed my assistance with this case."

"And I need you to respect my wishes. This is the last I want to hear about any of this."

Jo didn't respond. She knew better.

Mr. Pierce left it at that and stormed out of the room. Reid walked toward him. "Don't you even talk to me, Spencer. I thought you would at least keep her safe. It is your fault that she is in here." He then went down the corridor towards the elevators.

Rossi put his arm around Reid. "This isn't your fault, or Jo's. Don't blame yourself."

"Can't I?" Reid smirked. "You know, for as long as I've known her, she as always helped me fight my battles. I just now realized that I never helped fight hers."

Rossi let out a heavy sigh. "You know, one of the things we've learned in this job is that abuse isn't always physical."

Reid nodded. He then went back into the room to see Jo. The pain medication forced her to fall back asleep.

A short time later Hotch came toward Rossi. "How she doing?"

"She's been in and out of it. Reid won't leave her side."

"Have her parents been by?"

"Her dad was here. He's a real peach."

"That bad?" Hotch was concerned.

"Worse." Rossi noted." He blames her and Reid for her getting shot.

"Well, we knew that she put all that pressure on herself because of someone."


	13. They are soulmates

Jo laid in her bed as Reid walked into the bedroom carrying a tray with a bowl of soup on top. "Here you go."

She worked to sit herself up. "You know you do not have to do this. I can make myself food."

"I know that. But I wanted to make sure that you avoided moving your arm as much as possible. So here, eat your soup." He placed the tray down in front of her. "Oh, I also invited someone to come and pay you a visit."

"What? No. I don't want to see anyone right now."

Like clockwork, there was a knock on her apartment door. "Right on time." Reid smiled. "Sit tight."

Jo let out a sigh, she did not want to be social.

Reid came back and stood in the doorway. "I thought you could use some cheering up." He moved out of the way and Lisa stepped into the room.

"Lisa! What are you doing here?"

She walked over to the side of the bed and gave her little sister a hug. "I had to come see you. It isn't every day that you get shot."

"Hey, keep eating." Reid ordered.

"Yes, you need to keep your strength up." Lisa agreed. "So, Spencer told me that Dad paid you a visit."

Jo let out a sigh. "Yes. And he was as pleasant as usual." She turned to Reid. "I am so sorry that he blamed you; that was completely uncalled for."

"It wasn't the first time I have been yelled at by your dad, and I am sure that it won't be the last." He smirked.

The trio spent the next few hours together as if they had never been apart from each other.

* * *

Jo sat on her couch, reading a book while Lisa was at the kitchen table, working on one of her cases, when someone knocked on her door. Jo got up to answer it. "Rossi." Jo was surprised to see him at her door. "Come on in."

"I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Much better, thank you." She shut the door behind him. "This is my sister, Lisa, and this is my supervising agent, David Rossi."

They both exchanged pleasantries. Lisa could tell by Rossi's look that he wanted a few minutes alone with Jo. She closed the binder she was writing in. "You know what, I think I am going to look for that thing in the bedroom." She got up, went into the room and shut the door.

"Do you want to sit?" Jo offered, heading to the couch.

Rossi sat down next to her. "I not only wanted to see how you are doing physically, but also emotionally."

"Oh, I'm doing fine. I am not having any trouble sleeping or problems with being shot. I will be back to work soon."

"I don't mean with the effects of being shot. But with the visit from your father."

Jo looked away, not wanting to make eye contact. "I was going to talk with you and Hotch when I got back, but I don't think that I should be working in the field anymore."

Rossi became aggressive. "Is this because you got shot or because this is what your father demanded from you?"

Jo didn't answer.

"Come on, Kiddo. You are a grown woman, who can make her own decisions. You live over two thousand miles away from someone who is controlling your life. Why are you allowing that? Don't let someone hold you back from your potential. You are good at this job, you know that you are. Can't you see that we are all in your corner?"

Lisa stormed out of the bedroom. "I am sorry, I can't pretend that I can't hear any of this."

Rossi was prepared for push-back from Lisa.

"Jo, he is right." Lisa announced.

Rossi wasn't expecting that.

"How many times have I told you to just ignore him? Are you going to let him run your life forever? You will get by without him and Rebecca in your life."

"Who's Rebecca?" Rossi asked.

Jo looked up at him. "That's our step-mom." She then turned to Lisa. "I couldn't turn my back on Mom, she raised me. I know it's different for you since you had our mom and trust me, dad never lets me forget it." Jo almost broke into tears. "I'm sorry, I can't right now." She got up, went into her room and slammed the door.

Rossi was dumfounded. "Am I missing something?"

Lisa sat down on the edge of the coffee table facing him. "My mother died in childbirth with Jo. Our father has held her responsible for it for her entire life. She has never been able to live up to his expectations and nothing is ever good enough for him. He didn't even want to raise her as a baby, that's why he married Rebecca. She raised Jo. When I was eighteen, I tried to get custody of Jo, but I didn't know how I would be able to support both of us, especially with me going to college. Rebecca really loves her, but she is only able to do so much, with Dad always scrutinizing everything that involves Jo."

"That's horrible." Rossi was at a loss for words. "She's lucky to have you in her life."

"I've just tried to be the best sister I could be. But look, Jo is a very private person. I know how much you care about her, she talks about you a lot. I wanted to make sure that you understood where she was coming from."

"Well, you don't have to worry, I am not going to tell anyone." He stood up from the couch. "Wait, does Reid know all of this?"

Lisa nodded. "He witnessed a lot of this first hand. But as I am sure you are aware, he had a lot to deal with with his mother."

Rossi nodded.

Lisa smirked. "I used to think that Spencer and Jo were perfect for each other because of all the heartaches they've been through, not too many people would be able to understand."

"You used to think?" Rossi shot her a grin.

"Well, I still think that. They are soulmates and don't even know it."


	14. Jo's night out

Weeks had gone by since Jo was shot. She had recovered and was back at work. She decided to take Rossi and her sister's advice and not care what her dad wanted her to do. Jo wanted to be in the field.

A new case brought the team to Miami. The UnSub was attacking couples at high class clubs. The profile they were able to put together so far was that the men were all alpha males with upper-class women. The UnSub was most likely jealous and he took his anger out by stabbing them repeatedly, after raping the women. The team was stumped. They had no leads to get them any closer, and they didn't want another couple to suffer the same fate.

"We need to get a couple in there and lure him out." Hotch suggested

"Yes." Rossi agreed. "If we could put the right bait in front of him, he could make his move.

"And since all of the men have been alpha males who are very flashy with how important they are, I recommend Morgan." Reid smirked.

"Thanks Kid." He pat Reid on the back, hard. "What you say, Prentiss, you ready to go under cover as my arm candy?"

"I can't"

"That's right." Hotch spoke up. "She and JJ already went into the club to ask questions."

"Then who is going with me?" Morgan asked.

Everyone looked to Jo.

Morgan shook his head. "She's not ready."

"Morgan is right, I'm not ready."

Hotch gave a reassuring look. "You will be fine."

"This place is a really high class club. I wouldn't even know where to start to look like I fit in." Jo expressed her concern.

JJ and Emily looked at each other. "Don't worry. We will take care of that." Emily reassured her.

"Let's go shopping." JJ smiled as they walked out of the police station.

* * *

Morgan stepped out of the men's locker room wearing a charcoal gray suit, black shirt and gray tie; looking extremely sharp.

JJ left the woman's locker room to see Morgan standing in the hallway. "Well, aren't you handsome."

"Thanks." He winked. "Is my date ready?"

JJ pushed the door open. "Okay, Cinderella."

Jo walked out. Morgan couldn't help but to gawk. He started with her sexy, smoky eyes. Her hair was curled and pulled back. He looked down to her formfitting, revealing, midnight blue dress and ended at her black high heels. "Damn girl. You ain't playing." He pulled out his phone. "Wait, I need a picture in case I never get to see this again."

She gave a quick smile for the picture. "Come on, let's get this over with." She walked toward the squad room where Hotch was waiting. She made her way in and he looked up at her.

"Wow." He couldn't help but stare.

She started to blush. "I feel so exposed." She said referring to her plunging neckline.

"You look the part." He reassured her.

She opened up her pursed and put in her .22.

"You can't take that with you." Hotch advised.

"What?" She looked surprised. "I am going out dressed like _this_ and I am supposed to attract a rapist and killer and I am not able to bring Charlie with me?"

Hotch was distracted by her statement. "Do you name all of your weapons?"

Jo nodded and gave a look as if to say _doesn't everyone_?

"You will be searched when you enter the club, they won't allow you to bring a gun in. But you will be with Morgan. Reid and I will also be there on the other side of the club keeping watch. You will be fine.

She felt comforted by his words.

Reid pulled Jo aside. "Are you sure you are ready for this?"

"Yes. Hotch just said to act like a girl having fun at a club. I am sure that I can fake that."

"You know what I mean."

"Don't worry, Reiding. I will be fine. Besides, you have my back." She turned to Morgan. "You ready, Babe?" She said in character.

He flashed a grin. "You know it." He took her arm into his and they walked out.

* * *

Jo and Morgan entered the club completely in character. He was flashy, bold and confidently flaunting his money. Jo was the perfect trophy for his arm. Her one job was to attract the UnSub and turn him down.

Hotch and Reid were already inside the club, sitting together at a table in the corner to give them a best overall view.

Rossi, JJ and Emily were in a surveillance van around the corner, in contact with Hotch through his earpiece.

Morgan and Jo were escorted to a reserved table which also gave them a good view of the club.

Morgan wrapped his arm around her and she leaned into him and put her hand on the inside of his leg.

He smiled and looked into her eyes. "We should have been on this assignment a long time ago."

Jo lovingly smiled back. "Shut up and keep your eyes open."

After they had each finished a drink. Morgan stood and reached for Jo's hand.

Reid watched as they go up. "What are they doing?"

"They're going to dance." Hotch explained.

A slow song played as Morgan held her tightly while his left hand held her right hand close to his chest.

Reid became more and more uncomfortable as he watched them. He continued to switch his legs as they were crossed.

The couple moved together as the music changed to a faster tempo. Morgan was pleasantly surprised with how good of a dancer Jo was. Several songs later, Morgan and Jo sat back down.

Hotch noticed a guy paying close attention to them, especially Jo. He shot a look to Morgan.

He turned to her. "I'm going to get us some more drinks. Be right back, Babe."

Jo knew to be on alert, and instantly, the man who was watching them sat on the small table in front of her.

"Can I help you?" She asked. She remembered what Hotch said. She had to keep him interested then ultimately turn him down.

"I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Okay."

"I wanted to know if chocolate was the only flavor you enjoyed."

"I don't see how that is any of your business."

"Well, I did see him dropping Benjamins like he owned the place. Maybe it is the green you like more."

Jo batted her eyes. "I do prefer a certain type of man."

"So, you like them wealthy?"

"I like for my men to take care of me. What woman wouldn't?"

"You know that _dimples_ over there could never really take care of you."

"Are you saying you can?" She gave a slight chuckle. "I don't think so."

He became agitated and grabbed her wrist. "I'm man enough for you."

Reid turned to Hotch. "We need to get over there."

Hotch put his hand up in front of Reid. "Hold on. We can't scare him away."

Morgan stood behind the guy. "Do you want to tell me why you're touching my girlfriend?"

He let go and stood up. "It's nothing. We were just getting better acquainted."

"Well, I suggest you move along or you will be _acquainted_ with my fist."

"I'm leaving, no reason to get your panties in a bunch." He gave a wink to Jo and walked to the bar.

Jo took the drink from Morgan's hand and drank a big gulp. "Uh, I feel like I need a shower."

Hotch described the guy to the team outside as they kept an eye on him.

Morgan went back to cuddling with Jo. "Do you think we need to antagonize him more?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know. A little make-out session."

Jo laughed. "I'm surprised you didn't just take it, after all, you are supposed to be an arrogant alpha male."

"No, we are supposed to be everything he is not and everything he wants." Morgan said softly and scooted closer to Jo. He put his hand on her face. "We are supposed to make him jealous." He leaned in and gave her a passionate kiss.

Hotch and Reid both watched as their teammates got extra personal with each other. Reid's grip around the already crumpled cocktail napkin tightened.

Morgan slowly backed away. As Jo did her best from showing the look of shock she was feeling.

He then nudged her. "You should leave before me. And remember to walk toward the van."

Morgan continued to make a big show as he walked out, tipping everyone who worked there and headed outside. He took a look around. "Jo?"

He turned and went back into the club. He didn't see her there either. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number. She didn't answer.

Hotch approached Morgan. "What's wrong?"

"I can't find Jo."

Hotch spoke into his wrist communicator. "Do you have a twenty on Pierce?"

"We didn't see her come out." Rossi responded.

Hotch turned to see the creepy guy was at the bar hitting on a girl. "We focused on the wrong guy."


	15. This isn't your fault

Hotch looked around and didn't see her. He then noticed an exit sign over a side door, tucked away down the hall. He and Morgan ran out the door which let out into a side alley with a few cars parked along the side of the building. "He probably left this way and had a vehicle waiting."

Reid met them outside. "Where's Jo?"

Morgan turned to him. "We can't find her."

"What do you mean?"

Hotch looked up. "Morgan, get back inside and look for your girlfriend."

"What?"

"This UnSub is taking couples. He is either coming back for you or has a partner. Get inside."

Morgan left them in the alley.

Hotch pulled out his phone. "Hey Garcia. I need you to track Jo's phone."

"Why, what's going on?"

"She's missing." Hotch stated.

Garcia's face dropped. "Oh, no." She started to type frantically. "I have her location."

"Good, send it to Rossi." Hotch instructed then hung up.

Reid looked around the alley and realized that they didn't have any leads he then stormed up to the dumpster and kicked it.

"Reid." Hotch called. "I am going to need you to keep focused. Are you going to be able to do that?"

Reid nodded, feeling defeated.

Morgan went back inside and pulled up the picture of Jo that he took earlier and showed it around. No one saw or remembered where she went.

* * *

Rossi pulled up to the location Garcia gave him. The three agents got out of the car to look around. "Garcia, I don't see anything." He said with her still on the phone.

"That is where her phone is at." Garcia insisted.

Emily looked down the isolated road in both directions. "I doubt we are going to find Jo. We should be looking for her phone."

JJ bent down to look under a car and pulled out a black purse. "I got it. This is Jo's bag." She opened it and they all looked at the phone that was inside."

* * *

Morgan met up with Hotch and Reid out in front of the club. "I have practically asked everyone in there but no one knows where she went. And as we can see, he didn't come back for me." He wiped his hand over his head in frustration. "Hotch, I'm sorry. I should have been right behind her."

"You should be sorry." Reid snapped.

"Reid." Hotch barked, putting an end to the attitude. "This was the plan. She didn't deviate. Now, she's a smart agent, we now need to focus on the profile. What changed? Why did he only take her and not Morgan?"

"No time?" Morgan suggested.

"Jo fought back? Maybe threw off his routine? Reid added.

"Garcia." Hotch called. "The club manager is sending you over the video surveillance for tonight. See if you can track down Jo. Also, compare it to the film from the other nights and see what you can find."

"You got it." Garcia acknowledged.

"There's not much more we can do here. We need to regroup at the station." Hotch stated as he headed to the SUV.

* * *

At the station, Rossi filled in the others about finding Jo's cell phone. "Also the on-ramp for the highway was just up the road. He could be anywhere by now."

"But he always used this club, it has to be part of his comfort zone." Emily suggested.

"Or it is just a place that has some significance to him." Hotch added.

"Hey, Girl, you're on speaker." Morgan held out his phone.

"Okay, I went through the surveillance from tonight as Jo was heading out, there are a lot of blind spots in this club, and this guy knew it. I did get lucky, we see him and Jo going out the side door, like Hotch thought. The problem is that the camera is only on the inside and the angle is in the wrong direction, like it was turned away prior to tonight."

Hotch interrupted. "Do you have a description?"

"He is white, at least in his thirties and dressed in all black, with brown hair. That's as much as I could get. I am sending over a screen shot and that part of the video for you to see if you recognize him."

"We are looking for someone with access to adjust the camera." Hotch noted

"Or he had a partner on the inside." Morgan added.

"These are all the things we need to be looking into, let's get to work."

* * *

Hotch walked into the bathroom and made sure that he was alone. He bent over the sink and splashed himself with the water. With his hands resting on the white porcelain, he looked up at his reflection in the mirror as the water dripped off his face.

Just then, the door opened and he quickly grabbed the towel to wipe up the water.

"You know you can't blame yourself, right?" Rossi strolled in with his hands in his pockets.

"What?" Hotch tried to avoid acknowledging what he was feeling.

"This isn't your fault." Rossi reassured him.

"What if she wasn't ready and I put her in too soon?"

"And what if we used JJ instead and the same thing happened to her? Well, I know that answer, too. You would still blame yourself. Right now you are focusing on the fact that she is a young agent… don't. You made a decision, as our team-leader. She agreed to do this assignment. She understood the risks, and we will get her back safely."

* * *

Jo started to regain consciousness. She was bound at her wrists and her ankles and mouth was gagged. It was so dark, she couldn't see where she was, but she felt the pain in her head from when she was knocked out.

A door opened, illuminating the staircase down toward her. She realized that she must be in some sort of a basement. Just then, a man was kicked down the stairs. She wanted to go rush to Morgan's side but stopped when someone started to walk down each step, slowly. As he approached her, she was only able to make out his outline. He pulled out the pistol from his belt and smacked her over the head knocking her out, again.


	16. You need to have faith

Jo started to wake up in the dark room, again. She could see Morgan's body lying at the foot of the stairs. She crawled over to him and with her mouth gagged, she still tried to call his name. "Morgan, are you okay?" She finally made her way to him and flipped him to lay on his back. When she looked closer she knew something was wrong. _You're not Morgan_.

Now that she was closer to the stairs, she was able to hear two men yelling upstairs.

"How stupid could you be?" The first guy yelled.

"What are you talking about?" The second guy questioned.

"You got the wrong fucking guy!"

"I got the guy who was following her out of the club, like you told me."

"Well, he isn't her boyfriend. Now I can't teach him the lesson… But you are still going to take care of it! Get rid of him."

Jo crawled her way back to where she was left and tried to pretend to be asleep. Shortly after the door opened and someone started down the stairs. He lifted the man who was unconscious over his shoulder and headed back upstairs.

* * *

"Go ahead, Garcia, you are on speakerphone." Hotch called out.

"Okay, I was scouring through the footage before and after Jo was taken, and I found something interesting. There was another man, African-American, who was following Jo out, but didn't make it out the front doors either. Another man approached him and escorted him out the other side door."

"What are you saying? That they grabbed him instead of me?" Morgan questioned.

"That's what it looks like. I am sending the feed to your tablets now."

The team looked as Jo headed out of the club but a man stopped her, whispered in her ear and headed out the side door. A few moments later, another man stopped the man following her and pulled him out the door behind the bar.

"Garcia, do you have an ID on the man that was taken?" Hotch inquired.

"I looked through missing persons reports, and there was a man, fitting his description, reported missing this morning. He is 36 years old, and his name is Robby Washington."

"That explains why they didn't take Morgan, they thought they grabbed her boyfriend." JJ observed.

"But what happens when they discover that he isn't her boyfriend?" Rossi added.

Garcia spoke over the speaker. "How much time does Jo have?"

"The first victims were held for approximately forty-eight hours. But now with this mistake, we don't know how that will affect this UnSub. This could make him angrier and shorten his timeline."

Reid aggressively pushed back his chair and stormed off.

Rossi got up from his chair. "I will be right back." He calmly announced to the rest of the team, and followed Reid.

Hotch got back to the business at hand. "Garcia, did you find anything else from the footage?"

"Yes, we never saw the first victims leaving on camera because that side door didn't have one installed until last week; after the police started asking questions about the missing people. But right when it was installed, it was immediately moved into a different position, to not get the best picture of anyone going through that door. This person has to work there or have some kind of connection."

"I need you to run all the employees of that club, including all the vendors that would come and go." Hotch requested.

"You got it."

"Is there something else?" Hotch asked.

"Well, yes, I would like to speak to Agent Morgan… privately."

Everyone looked to him as he took her off of speaker and walked a few steps away. "Yes, Garcia?"

"Derek Morgan, don't think for one minute that I am just going to ignore what I witnessed between you and Jo in the middle of that club."

"Whoa, wait up. You know that was all a part of the act."

"Oh, I am sure that you couldn't wait to slap a kiss on her all night." She snarked.

"Come on, that's Reid's girl. You know I would never."

Garcia knew he was right. "I know, you would never."

"Don't forget that you are my Boo."

* * *

Rossi left the building and headed toward Reid who was leaning forward against the iron fence in front of the police building.

"So, how you doing?" Rossi nudged.

"How do you think I'm doing?" Reid snapped at him.

"I think that you are taking this so personally that you can't think clearly, and if you won't be able to do that, then you are no good to us here."

"I feel helpless. I don't know what to do." He let out a deep exhale. "Maybe it would be best for me to step-down from this case."

"Perhaps you should. I mean, you wouldn't be able to offer any information about the UnSub. And with grabbing the wrong guy, their timeline is for sure going to change. Jo is as good as dead at this point."

Reid turned and grabbed Rossi's shirt. "Jo has a better chance than anyone else in that situation! She's a fighter. She would do whatever she could to get out or get a message to us. You have no idea how incredibly intelligent she is. She isn't some probie agent that doesn't know which end is up. You need to have some faith in her, Rossi!"

"And so do you." Rossi quietly stated. Reid let go of his shirt and took a step back. "Listen, I know how close she is to you, and maybe that's what is making you not see things clearly, but we also know that she is strong and will get through this. You need to believe that too." Rossi grabbed ahold of Reid's shoulders. "I need your help with this case. Jo needs your help."

Reid walked back into the police station full of confidence. "Let me see her purse." He yelled to the group. Emily handed the scrapped up bag that was dumped from the car to him and he started to pour everything out. He picked up her phone and clicked through it.

Hotch walked up to him. "What are you looking for?"

"The footage showed that Jo was walking out willingly. She must have been coerced, but she would have tried to do something. Here." Reid held out the phone to show Hotch.

"She got a picture of him?" Hotch stared at a picture of a man holding Jo's arm from inside the club.

"Look at the time stamp, it is right when the abduction took place. You can also see that she tried to send it out but wasn't able to get that far. The UnSub probably took the bag from her at that point."

"Get this over to Garcia, right away. Hopefully we will get an ID." Hotch ordered.

The police captain walked over to Hotch. "We got a body."


	17. Jo is in trouble

The team gathered at the dump site for the body that was just discovered. Rossi crouched down and picked up the sheet covering him. "It's Robby Washington, alright." He turned to the medical examiner. "How many stab wounds?"

"At least thirty, I lost count. I will do a more thorough exam when we get him on the table."

Rossi stood up and approached Hotch. "So, they must have figured out that this wasn't the boyfriend causing them to kill and dump him ahead of schedule."

"Now we need to figure out how this is going to affect Jo." Hotch added.

* * *

Jo awoke strapped to a chair seated at a table still wearing her dress. Her head throbbing from being hit repeatedly with the butt of a gun. She could hear movement at the other side of the house and started to take-in her surroundings. It looked like a small house, with modest furnishings, empty pizza boxes and Chinese take out scattered.

"I am going to go on my date now, so you can head back to the house." One guy said.

"Are you sure about all of this? This doesn't seem right to me." The second guy questioned.

"What did I tell you about this? It is what I have to do to prove myself."

Jo could hear the front door close followed by the sound of a wine cork being pulled out from the bottle. The man who threatened her at the club came walking toward her holding the wine bottle in one hand and two glasses in the other. He poured a glass of white wine and placed it in front of her. He poured himself one and sat in the seat across from her.

"What's your name?" He asked softly.

She thought of all the ways that she could answer him. _Should I resist him completely? Should I play along? Should I use my real name?_ A million thoughts ran through her head. "Jo." She answered him, meekly.

"Just Jo? Is that short for something?"

She shook her head. "No, just Jo."

"How interesting. Tell me, Jo. How did your parents come up with a simple name like that?"

"Well, if I was a girl, my mother wanted to name me Jo from Little Women. It was her favorite book."

"Was?" He asked staring into her eyes, absorbed in the conversation.

"She died from complications during childbirth." Jo tried to keep her emotions in check.

"How awful for you. I guess that's why you have always needed someone to take care of you." He referred to the character she was playing at the club.

"I've managed to get by."

"I want to make you a deal, okay?"

"Okay."

"I am going to untie your wrists and you and we will enjoy our evening together. I will not hurt you, I promise. But you must not try to run away or scream." His eyes then grew darker. "If you do try to fight me, then you will be sorry. Do I make myself clear?"

Jo nodded. She now knew what his intentions were and that she just needed to play along until she could find a way out of this mess.

"Please have some." He referred to the glass of wine in front of her.

She reached for it and took a sip. Jo knew that if she drank too much, on an empty stomach and with a head wound that she would become intoxicated and unable to think clearly. After sipping the wine she placed it back down in front of her. "You didn't tell me your name."

"It's Preston." He smiled at her. "I have a delicious dinner planned for us tonight. I hope that you will enjoy it."

"That sounds great." She continued to play along. The more she acted calm and like she was enjoying herself, the more he seemed to believe in the fantasy.

* * *

"Okay, boys and girls. I got a hit on the picture that you sent me. His name is Preston Traynor. His employment records show that he worked for Weston Wine and Spirits until a month ago."

"That's when the first bodies showed up." JJ offered.

Garcia continued. "He does, however, have a brother, Frank, who still works for them."

"His brother is most likely the accomplice." Emily suggested.

"And could have adjusted the camera during one of his deliveries." Rossi added.

Hotch pulled the phone closer to him. "Do you have a location?"

"I am sending to your phones now."

A short time later the team pulled up in front of Preston's house, they split up to take the front and back entrances. Hotch turned the unlocked handle and busted in. Room by room they cleared the house. No one was there.

* * *

Jo was served a steak dinner, with potatoes and green beans. Preston filled up her glass and encouraged her to drink more. "Well, to be honest, I really don't like white wine that much."

"But chardonnay is your favorite." He insisted.

Jo knew now that he was completely living out his fantasy. She had to be careful of what she said and how if she wanted to stay alive. "I'm sorry, you're right." She gave a smile as she took another sip. "So, what plans do you have for us now that we are done with dinner?" She tried to sound enthusiastic.

"I thought we could snuggle on the couch and watch a movie."

"That sounds great."

He pulled out her chair from the table and grabbed onto her arm, tightly. She realized that he at least had one foot in reality to make sure that she didn't try to run away. They walked into the living room and he pushed her onto the couch. He looked at the DVD library, made a selection and put it into the player. He then went and curled up next to her on the couch. He pulled her into him, requiring her to lay her head on his chest with his arms around her.

As the movie played, Preston's hands started to wander. He began by gradually sliding his hand up her torso until he was cupping her breast. She closed her eyes tightly feeling dirty. After groping her, his hand moved down to the bottom of her dress and started to put it up.

 _Okay, Jo, you can't let this go any further._

With one swoop, he was on top of her, forcing his hand between her legs.

She used the heel of her hand and popped him directly on his nose. His eyes started to water, and nose bled. He shot up grabbing his face. Jo pushed him off and started to run. She made it to the front door, but the deadbolt lock required a key to get out.

Preston advanced toward her as she pounded on the door. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back into the living room.


	18. Get off of her!

Hotch stood talking on his phone. "Garcia, you have to give me something else."

"Okay, I did a lot of digging, and I found some old social media posts of this guy Preston and his longtime girlfriend, Grace. Well, she seems to have dropped from the planet. She was an orphan and had no family. The only thing steady in her life was this guy and her job. She last showed up there about a month ago, as well. She was terminated for being a no call/no show."

"Was there a missing persons report filed?"

"No, not even from Preston. There is also no mention of them breaking up or anything. Just all of their media sites were deleted."

"She is somehow his stressor."

"Oh, this is interesting." Garcia added. "As part of a trust that was in her name, she has a house that is fully paid for."

"That could be where they are. Send me the address."

"Already on your phone, Oh Great and Powerful One."

* * *

Preston let her go once they were in the living room. He then kicked her, knocking the wind out of her. She laid on the ground coughing. He stood above her. "After all I have done for you, this is how you are going to treat me?" He kicked her again.

She rolled around on the ground and moaned and sobbed. He started toward her, she turned to her back and used her foot to flip him over her. She quickly jumped up and kicked him in the head. Jo took a few steps back putting distance between them. He still got up and came after her. He went to hit her, she grabbed his arm and pushed it down. With her other arm, she swung across his already bruised nose, causing it to break and knocking him down.

He got up, shook his head and charged for her. He punched her in the face then smacked her, causing her lip to bleed. He then gripped her into a headlock. Jo jabbed him hard into the leg then flipped her arm upward to hit him in the face. But he grabbed her wrist and threw her to the ground. He quickly got on top of her, picked up her head and pounded it onto the ground, leaving her disoriented.

Preston took out a pocket knife and cut the straps to her dress and pulled down her top. He then slid the skirt of her dress up. "We are going to end this the way that I want to." He unhooked his belt and slid it out of the loops, followed by removing his shirt and laying it on the floor next to his belt. He laid on top of her and forced his tongue into her mouth.

She pushed him off and spit into his face. "Get off of me!"

He smacked her across the face. "I will get off of you when I am done!" He started to undo his pants.

"Get off of her!" Hotch ordered while pointing his glock at Preston. He, Rossi, and Reid stood just inside the sliding door that lead to the backyard.

Preston held the pocket knife to Jo's throat. "Leave me alone or I will cut her up."

Morgan called over the radio from the backyard. "I have a recent grave back here with fresh flowers all around. This might be Grace."

Hotch and Reid both heard this. Reid then noticed a picture of Preston with Grace smiling, and happy, so he holstered his pistol and put his hands up in front of him and slowly walked toward him. "You aren't going to hurt her, Preston, because that's not what Grace would have wanted."

Preston's eyes started to water.

"Look at what you're doing to her." Reid said calmly as Hotch kept his aim. "Grace would want you to be happy. She wouldn't want you to hurt anyone."

"It was an accident!" Preston yelled out while crying. "I couldn't reach her. She slipped out of my hands and fell down the stairs. I had to find her again. I had to show her that I could make someone else happy, just like I did her."

"I understand that and Grace sees what you have been trying to do. But right now, you need to put down the knife."

Preston dropped the knife and continued to cry. Rossi jumped right in, cuffed him and pulled him away.

Jo sat up and tried to fix her dress the best she could to cover herself back up.

Reid went right to her side. "Are you okay?"

Jo put on a fake smile. "Yes, I'm fine." She then looked at Hotch. "He told the other guy to go back to the other house. Do you know what that means?"

Hotch nodded. "Prentiss, take Morgan and JJ to the brother's house and get him."

Morgan walked from the backyard to the front and passed Preston as he was being put into the police car.

Preston recognized him as Jo's boyfriend from the club. "You wouldn't have been able to treat her right! I need to teach you the lesson!"

"Get him out of here." Morgan told the police officer.

Reid walked with Jo from the front door of the house. "You will need to be checked out at the hospital."

"You won't get an argument from me. I am sure I will need a CAT scan." She held the back of her head.

Hotch approached Jo as she was sitting at the edge of the ambulance getting her vitals checked. Reid was at her side like a guard dog. He looked at the bruises on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I am fine. These will heal in time."

"It looked like you broke his nose." Hotch said with pride.

"Well, in situations like that, it's not about the fight, but getting away." She had to hold back her emotions. "Unfortunately, that didn't work out too well this time."

Hotch felt relief that she was safe yet guilty for her being in the situation in the first place. Without knowing what else to say he simply wished her well at the hospital.

Reid helped Jo into the ambulance, the doors were shut and the driver pulled out to heading to the hospital. Reid sat next to her and clutched her hand. "Jo, did he _hurt_ you?" He asked sensitively.

Neither of them looked at each other. She laid her head on his should and finally allowed herself to cry. The emotions she wouldn't let herself to show in front of the rest of the team. "It wasn't like what happened with Paul. He was so close... I was so scared, Spencer."

He wrapped his arm around her and held her as she wept on his chest.


	19. Why don't you go shoot something?

Lisa walked into Jo's bedroom. "Come on, get out of bed." She urged.

Jo grabbed the blankets and covered her head. "Go away."

Lisa opened the curtains to let the sunlight into her room. "It is past eleven. You need to get up. I know you hate sleeping in."

Jo picked up one of her pillows and threw it at her sister.

Lisa caught it before it hit her face. "You seem tense." She put the pillow down on the bed. "Hey, I know. Why don't you go shoot something? That always makes you feel better."

* * *

Hotch walked into the shooting range. He noticed Jo, alone, standing at one of the stalls unloading her magazine. "I would hate to be that paper target." He said with his usual dry tone.

"Oh, hi." She smirked placing her weapon down then removed her earphones.

"I thought you were going to take some time off." He referred to the bruises still evident on her face.

"I was just letting off some steam." She confessed.

Hotch tilted his head. "Because of this most recent case?"

"Well that certainly didn't help things."

"You know you can always come to me if you need anything."

She gave a smile and nodded.

"I understand that your sister is in town. Are things going okay?"

"Oh yeah. Things with Lisa are great. It's just…" She waved off the rest of her statement.

"Your dad?"

"Yeah. I finally took Lisa's advice and cut him out of my life." She let out a heavy sigh. "He isn't taking it too well."

"But Lisa, she is helping you through this?" He asked, concerned.

"Yes, and Spencer." She let out a chuckle. "I swear when those two get together, you would think they were the best friends."

Hotch smiled, with a puzzled look. "How did you become so close? You don't exactly run in the same circles."

"We knew each other from the neighborhood. He's a year older than me, but at times he was going to school with my sister more than me." She snickered. "Well, one day, he was walking home from school and some of the bullies were picking on him and teasing him. So, I ran up to him, gave him a kiss and pretended to be his girlfriend. They left him alone and we were best friends ever since."

Hotch grinned. "You kissed him?"

"Yes." She beamed. "Spencer Reid was my first kiss."

* * *

Agent Anderson knocked on Rossi's door. "Have you seen Agent Hotchner?" He asked.

"I believe he is at a meeting with the director. What do you need?"

"There is a man on hold with the switchboard. He keeps demanding to speak to the person in charge and won't talk to anyone else."

"Go ahead and patch the call to me."

Anderson nodded. A short time later, the phone rang.

"SSA Rossi, what can I do for you?" He stated in a cool and calm tone.

"Finally, I hope you are someone with authority." The man on the line snarled. "I am looking for my daughter."

"Is she missing?" Rossi questioned.

"You tell me, she works there." He continued with his attitude.

"Who is your daughter?"

"Jo Pierce. I haven't heard from her."

"Ahhh, Mr. Robert Pierce. I met you in the hospital in Colorado. But I am sorry to say that Jo is off today."

"Then were is she?" He demanded.

"I am sorry, but I do not know what the agents do on their off hours."

"This is completely unacceptable. What kind of place are you people running over there? I need to get in touch with my daughter!"

"Is there some kind of emergency that she needs to be aware of?" Rossi continued in a calm tone.

"That is between Jo and me."

"Well, I am sorry, Mr. Pierce, but I do not know where she is. I will give her a message that you called but that is the best that I can do."

"That isn't good enough."

"Well, you know what, Mr. Pierce. That is going to be good enough. I am putting you on notice that you are really close to threatening an FBI Agent. You will not call here again or I will take legal action against you, and trust me, you do not want that. Now, do I make myself clear?" Rossi paused, he could hear him breathing on the other end, and then the call was disconnected. "I hope you have a fantastic day, too." Rossi hung up the receiver.

* * *

Hotch and Jo walked out of the shooting range into the parking lot. "I hope you were able to let out the right amount of steam that you came here for."

Jo smirked. "Yeah, I think it helped. The next couple of days off will help as well. Hopefully my face will go back to normal by then."

"You can hardly notice the black eye and split lip." Hotch joked.

"Whenever Spencer would talk to me about you, he made it very clear that you never smile. I am wondering why he would say that. I always see you smile, except when we are on a case, of course."

Hotch whispered in her ear. "Don't tell anyone." The two of them chuckled as they made their way to Jo's car.

Hotch quickly extended his arm to be able to view his watch, making Jo instinctively duck out of the way. "I'm sorry, are you okay?" He asked, apologetically.

"I'm fine." She straightened herself back up. "I guess I am still a little on edge." She put the key in her door's lock.

"I guess it is to be expected after what you have been through."

Jo let out quiet scoff. "I've been through much worse." She then got into the driver's seat.

Hotch looked disconcerted. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course. I promised Lisa that I would meet her for a lunch. I am sorry, I have to go." Jo quickly started her engine and drove off leaving Hotch bothered by her statement.


	20. You talk to your weapons?

Jo steadied herself in the SUV as Rossi weaved in and out of traffic while the sirens were blaring. "It should just be a couple more blocks up that way." Jo pointed.

"How many hostages?" Rossi asked.

"Morgan said fifteen, including women and children. And he is in a psychotic break." Jo reported. "He continues to hold the hostages in front of him, blocking any shot from the team."

"Put in your ear piece. You might be able to pick up their transmission."

She put it in and could instantly hear the team. "Hotch is trying to negotiate." She could then overhear the UnSub. "I will blow her head off if you don't put your guns down!"

"Rossi, pull over right here." She demanded.

"Right here? Aren't they down that way?"

"Exactly." She got out of the car, quickly opened the back and pulled out a long, black case. "Let's go." They headed into the adjacent building to where the team was. "Have you been a spotter before?"

"A couple of times."

"Alright. I need you to find out the wind directions. And what do you think the temperature is? About 70-72 degrees?"

"Yeah, about that."

They made it to the roof and ran to the edge of the building. Jo put together her rifle in record time. She held it up over the edge and looked through the scope. "Wind direction?"

"Coming from the west" Rossi reported. "There is an American flag right there."

Jo studied the waving flag. She then focused on the man frantically pacing with a gun in his hand, standing between the hostages and the team. Jo could hear all the chatter over her earpiece, with everyone trying to talk him down and his crazy rantings, she pulled it out to be able to focus on his actions.

The UnSub then picked up a boy and held him in front of him, blocking any kind of shot from the team on the ground. He then pointed his gun directly at the boy's head.

"He's going to shoot him." Rossi announced.

Morgan tried to move to a better position when the UnSub fell to the ground. JJ quickly grabbed the boy and pulled him away. Hotch looked up at where Jo and Rossi were then went to help the hostages.

Jo pulled away from her scope and tapped the Ace of Spades playing card. "Good work, Gambit."

"You talk to your weapons?" Rossi stated. "Yeah, that's not weird."

She put her Remington back in its case and the two agents headed back to the team.

"Good work." Hotch patted her on the back.

Reid flashed her a smile as he carried of one of the children to get checked out by the medical team.

* * *

Jo walked into Clancy's with Lisa by her side. They joined the rest of the team at one of the tables and then made introductions.

"I was wondering when I was going to be able to meet you." Morgan smirked. "I can definitely see the family resemblance."

"Where are Emily and Rossi at tonight?" Jo asked looking around.

JJ smirked. "Emily had another date."

"Rossi mentioned having dinner with a friend." Hotch reported.

"Oh, Lisa." Reid started to laugh. "Tell me if you heard this one. What's the difference between an etymologist and an entomologist?" He took a brief pause. "An etymologist knows the difference." He couldn't help but laugh at his own joke.

Lisa was cracking up with him.

Everyone at the table then turned to Jo.

"How do you put up with this?" Morgan asked.

"I drink." Jo took a big gulp of her beer. "Hey, JJ, you want to play Cricket or 501?" Jo motioned her head to the vacant dart board.

JJ stood up. "Definitely." The two went to go play darts.

Garcia's eyes widened. "I have no idea what you are talking about but I want to go watch." She got up and pulled Morgan with her.

Hotch turned to Lisa. "So, how long are you in town for?"

"I am not sure. Probably another week."

"Your husband is okay with you being away for this long?" He asked, looking at the ring on her finger.

"Oh yeah. Michael is actually in France right now, so he isn't missing me at home."

"What is he doing in France?" He asked, intrigued.

"He is a painter, and right now his work is on display at one of their galleries." She said proudly.

"That's amazing."

Lisa took out her phone to show him some of the pieces he painted for this showing. "These pictures don't do them justice."

"Oh, wow. These are great." Hotch exclaimed.

Lisa looked at Jo and JJ who were enjoying themselves as Garcia cheered each one on. "I am so glad that Jo is having a good time. She really needed it after that undercover case." She turned to Reid. "I am sure that it brought back bad memories."

"Yes." He admitted. "She instantly brought up Paul to me."

Hotch looked puzzled. "Who is Paul?"

Lisa realized that Hotch had no idea what had happened. "Paul was someone Jo dated. It didn't end too well."

Hotch looked up to Jo.

Just then, Jo felt someone tap on her shoulder and turned around to see a man holding a beer right behind her.

"You like, Smithwicks, if I remember correctly." He said while holding it out for her. "I'm Brian, by the way."

She then remembered that he was one of the guys she scolded for knocking her over before. She smiled as she accepted it. "Yes. Thank you. I'm Jo." She then let out a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" He questioned.

"It's just that you aren't pronouncing it correctly, the 'W' is silent. It's _Smith'icks_."

"I will remember that for the future." He smiled. "But I just wanted to thank you for what you did. You're right; there was no point in fighting over a girl who was just toying with us."

JJ threw her three darts, hitting the eighteen, half bull and bulls eye."

Garcia cheered. "That's ninety-three points?"

JJ grinned. "Yes, it is! Hey, Jo, it's your turn."

"One second." She told him. She then held the darts in her left hand, selected one with her right, aimed and it landed in the twenty. She aimed again; in the twenty. Morgan and Garcia were getting excited. She aimed one last time and into the triple twenty.

"That's one hundred points." Garcia announced as JJ let out a friendly groan.

Jo went back to talking with Brian.

Lisa tapped Reid on his arm. "Who is that talking with Jo?"

Reid turned around to see that he was making her laugh. "That's one of the guys that knocked her over when they were getting into a fight. She made him buy her a new beer."

"She broke up a bar fight?" Hotch asked.

Reid nodded. "Well, it was pretty close."

Lisa laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like Jo."

"Has she always been this feisty?" Hotch asked.

Reid and Lisa both smiled and nodded.

"Jo has never wanted anyone get the better of her." Lisa admitted.

Reid looked up to see that Jo and JJ finished their game and that Jo was standing in the corner talking to that guy.

Hotch watched Reid stare at Jo while she and Brian were talking to each other. "Are you going to destroy another cocktail napkin?"

Reid glanced at Hotch then back at her.

"Can I offer you a bit of advice?" Hotch offered.

"Okay."

"Go tell her how you feel."

Reid sat and thought for a bit. Then got up and walked up to Jo.

Jo saw Reid approach her. "Oh, hey, Spencer, this is Brian."

"I need to speak to you for a second." He ignored Brian, grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

She turned to Brian. "I'll be right back."

Reid escorted her outside.

"That was rude." She chastised him.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want you talking to him."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Reid grabbed her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. "Jo, I can't take this anymore."

"You can't take what anymo…" Her words were muffled by his kiss. He let go of her shoulders and held her close to him.

She picked up her arms and wrapped them around his neck. They both felt the passion and desire they had for each other as their lips connected. It seemed to last for only a moment and a lifetime all at once.

He backed away from her. She opened her eyes to see him smiling at her. "Do you know how long I've waited for you to do that?"


	21. Oh, yes I love secrets

Reid and Jo both smiled and giggled with excitement.

"So, what made you do that?" She asked

"Hotch." He responded

"Hotch told you to kiss me?" Jo felt embarrassed.

"No, he told me to tell you how I feel, and for the first time, I didn't know what to say."

Jo bit her lip. "So what do we do now?"

"I have no idea." Reid smiled with optimism.

Jo put her hand on his chest. "Wait right here, I will be right back." She walked back into Clancy's. Hotch and Lisa both stared at her with inquiring eyes.

"Here." Jo called to her sister as she tossed over her keys. "I'll see you at home." She then walked over to Brian, who was waiting for her. "Thank you, again for the beer, but I am sorry, I have somewhere more important to be right now." Jo left the bar without another word.

Hotch gave Lisa a smile. "Whatever he said must have worked."

"And it's about time." Lisa grinned.

Jo met Reid back outside. He grabbed her hand as they walked down the street together.

* * *

Garcia walked into Jo's office and took a seat across from her. Jo continued to stare into nothing as the end of her pen was held below her lip. "Earth to Jo." Garcia waved.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jo snapped out of her preoccupation and smiled at her friend.

"What is going on with you? You seem distracted."

Jo blushed realizing she was caught. "Can you keep a secret?"

Garcia moved in closer. "Oh, yes. I love secrets."

Jo glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. "Spencer kissed me."

"What?!" Garcia shouted. Her eyes were opened wide and mouth hung open. She then realized she was so loud and whispered. "What? Wait, when did this happen?"

"Friday night."

"Friday night? Like, this last? Is that what happened when he pulled you outside?"

Jo nodded. "It just happened. So spontaneously, which is not like him." She beamed just thinking about it.

"So what does this mean? Are you two?"

"I have no idea."

"Are you going out tonight? You know, like a date?" Garcia giggled.

"No, Derek and I have combat training after work."

Garcia raised her eyebrows. "Don't you go thinking you can have a little love triangle going." She teased.

* * *

Morgan stopped Jo on her way out of the office. "Are we still on for our training tonight?"

"Of course. I was just going to go for a run first." She looked at her watch. "Seven? At the gym?"

"You got it."

"Great, I'll see you there." She smiled and walked off.

Roughly twenty minutes later, Jo stepped outside wearing charcoal gray leggings and a bright blue muscle shirt. She stretched, put in her earbuds and as Shakira's Loca played, she started her run.

It was the perfect day for a four-mile trek around the neighborhood. Jo loved her jogs. She got to let go, zone out and come back feeling refreshed. There was only the slightest chill in the air, which helped to keep her cool as her body temperature rose.

Jo stopped, only a half mile back to the gym; she waited to cross the street. She stretched out her legs as she watched the cars drive by. She pulled out her earbuds as she stared at a driver passing by. She stood in shock, almost paralyzed. She never thought she would see him again, she never wanted to.

* * *

Jo entered the gym as Morgan was in the middle of a set of sit-ups. She contemplated canceling, but thought that the work-out would help clear her mind.

"Hey, how was your run? You look exhausted."

"Oh, I'm good. I think I pushed that last half mile too hard." She threw her stuff against the wall then slapped her hands together. "Okay, let's do this."

Jo took her stance in front of Morgan. He came at her and was quickly able to get her into a headlock. He released her. "Okay, let's try again."

She charged toward him; he grabbed her shoulders and tripped her. She landed hard on her butt. He helped her back up. "Jo, get your head in the game."

"I'm sorry." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Okay, I'm ready." This time she more focused. They grappled back and forth. She kicked his leg causing him to fall forward onto his knees.

"See, that's better." He nodded. "Let's dial it up a notch."

They started up again, practically throwing real punches. She grabbed his arm to twist behind his back. He then used his body to knock her flat onto her back. Then got on top of her and pinned her arms down over her head.

Jo became flooded with panic. "Derek... you need to get off."

Morgan could see the fear in her eyes and quickly released her and sat at her side. He watched as she scrunched her face and was breathing hard. "Are you okay? Can I get you something?"

She sat up with her knees bent in front of her and let out a sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded, unwilling to make eye contact.

"Are you sure? I've never seen you freak out like that before."

She wrapped her arms around her legs, closed her eyes and allowed her breath to blow through her lips. "I will be fine, Derek." Jo picked herself up, and tried to shake it off.

Morgan instantly got up and tried to touch her arm but she pulled back.

"I should get going." She snatched her bag and bolted out the doors.

He went to get his phone and dialed. "Hey, Reid, I need you to do me a favor."

* * *

Jo walked into her apartment, dropped her bag onto the ground and wasted no time getting into the shower. She stood under the falling water, letting it cascade over her face. The water finally started to turn cold, forcing her out.

She dried off, threw on her lounging clothes and pulled back her damp hair into a messy folded-over ponytail.

While walking to the kitchen there was a knock at her door. She froze. She forced herself toward the door. But first she went into her gym bag and pulled out her glock. Jo looked to see Reid on the other side. She let out a relieving sigh and opened the door.

"Spencer, what are you doing here?"

He looked down to see she was holding her service weapon. "What's going on?"

She turned and put the gun down on the table.

He walked in and shut the door. "Look, Morgan called me. He wanted me to make sure you are okay."

"Spencer." She closed her eyes. "I saw him."

"Who?"

"Paul. He's here." Jo went in for a hug and he wrapped his arms around her.


	22. I put on all the Kisses

Reid held Jo's hand and led her to the couch. "Are you sure that it was him?"

She sat and thought for a moment. "I know that it was him. I watched him as he drove by."

"I am in no way saying that it wasn't, but could it possibly be your mind playing tricks on you? You did just go through a similar ordeal, it is completely understandable for fears to manifest themselves into delusions."

Jo closed her eyes and let out a quiet snort. "You know that if you said that to anyone else they would be offended?" She looked at him in the eye. "Yes, I could have imagined it. That is completely possible. Let's look at this logically for a moment. Why would Paul be in D.C.?"

"Could he have transferred to the Marine Base at Quantico?"

Jo sighed. "I mean, anything is possible. But the last I heard he was serving overseas, which is where he wanted to be. I guess it makes sense that I would have no clue about his life now, it's been years. Besides, even if he _was_ here, who is to say he would even see me. I am overacting for nothing."

"Even though there is a probability for him to be in this location, I would say that it is more likely that you are overthinking this and just scared yourself. Which we both know that you tend to do." Reid gave a _you know I'm right_ smirk.

* * *

Jo walked into the BAU with a new spring in her step. Reid stayed with her most of the night and she awoke that morning happy and ready to face the day. She approached Emily and JJ who were sitting at the break room table together, drinking their coffee. Jo placed a box in front of Emily. "Good morning." She smiled.

Emily grinned. "Oh, what's this?" She anxiously opened the box knowing that it would have some kind of delicious treat inside."

"Peanut butter cookies with Hershey's Kisses on top?" JJ's eyes opened wide as she picked up a cookie.

"Enjoy." Jo pleasantly remarked then turned to go to her office.

Hotch and Reid walked up to the ladies while they devoured the cookies.

Emily moaned with enjoyment. "Oh my god. I am going to marry her."

Hotch raised an eyebrow. "You want to marry her because of her baking expertise?"

"You got to try one of these." JJ insisted.

Hotch took a bite. "Definitely marriage material." He then gave a subtle grin to Reid.

Reid stood proudly. "I put on all the Kisses."

"And that's the best part." Emily praised.

* * *

Jo was engrossed in her work when she heard Morgan call out to her.

"Hey you." He smiled, hanging on the doorframe while leaning into her office.

"Hi Derek. There are cookies by the coffee. That is if there are any left."

"Yes, I got one. They are great, as usual." He walked in and sat in front of her desk. "I just wanted to check on you; see how you were doing today."

Jo nodded. "I am doing a lot better. Spencer came over and he helped." She took a breath. "Thank you for calling him."

"That's what I do; look out for my friends. I will admit that you look like you are back to your old sun-shiny self." He stood up. "I have to get into this meeting. But you let me know if you ever need anything from me. Okay?"

Jo smirked. "Thank you, Derek."

* * *

Reid knocked on Jo's office door.

"Come in." she called, keeping her eyes on the report she was reading.

"Hey." He uttered.

She looked up with joy on her face. "Hey."

"We just got a case. So, I am going to leave soon. I just wanted to say goodbye."

Jo noticed his apparent awkwardness. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I mean, we have had to say good-bye to each other when I have left on cases before, but this time seems different. I just want to make sure that I get back to you, safely." He had a touch of sadness in his eyes.

Jo couldn't help but smile at the tenderness of his statement. She stood up and went to him. "I want you to come back to me safely, too. Not to mention, quickly." She put her hands on his arms. "You feel differently this time because _we_ are different." She looked to his chest, then back up into his eyes. "Please promise me to be safe?"

Reid nodded. He stood in front of her unsure of what he should do, of what the acceptable sign of farewell was.

Jo sensed the conflict and gave him a simple hug. "You better hurry, don't be late to get on the jet."

He turned to leave but then ducked his head back into her office. "I will call you when I can, okay?" He smiled and left.

* * *

"Hey, Rossi, wait up." Reid called out as they were both heading for the jet on the tarmac. Rossi stopped and turned to him. "I was wondering if you had any connections at the Quantico Marine Base."

"A few, why?"

"I wanted to know if you would be able to see if an officer, Paul Capello was transferred there recently." Reid looked concerned.

Rossi felt like something was wrong. "What is this about?"

"I'm not sure yet. But if he is in town, I want to be prepared."

"I will make some calls." He started toward the jet then stopped again. "Why didn't you go to Garcia? I am sure she would be able to punch out this information in a microsecond."

"She would, but she is also close with Jo, and I didn't want her to know that I was looking into this."

Rossi's eyes narrowed. "Who is this guy to Jo?"

Reid looked down. "He is her ex-boyfriend. He isn't a good guy. I don't want her to get hurt again."

"We will both make sure that doesn't happen."


	23. Swim meets and the Marine Corp

Jo carried an old yellow gym bag in her hand and dropped on the floor in her living room.

Lisa looked up from her book. "Tell me that is not your swim bag."

"It is. Since I haven't wanted to go running, I figure I should get back into the pool. Did you want to go with me? I have an extra suit."

Lisa thought for a second, and then closed her book. "Yeah, that sounds fun."

The sisters walked out of the locker room toward the Olympic size pool. "Is this place usually this empty?" Lisa asked only seeing two other swimmers in the pool.

"It depends on the time of day. But I've only been here a couple of times. I usually prefer to run."

They both dropped into the pool, each in their own lane. Jo started to do a light lap and Lisa quickly followed her lead, getting accustomed to the water. Jo popped her head out. "Do you want to race?"

"Oh, come on. You are going to beat me. I haven't done this in a long time."

"Where's your sense of adventure? Who knows, you might beat me this time." She snorted.

"Okay, but only 100 meters and freestyle." Lisa announced her terms.

"Agreed." Jo smiled as she pulled herself out of the pool. She leaned over to dip her goggles in the water then put them on over her cap. They took their positions on the blocks as Jo called out. "Ready, set, go."

They both jumped off and sped under the water like mermaids. Lisa took her breath first but was keeping up with Jo. They turned then made their way back to the starting point. Jo stretched her hand out and tapped the wall. Lisa was only a few seconds behind.

The sisters pulled themselves out of the water and sat on the edge with their feet dangling in the pool.

"So," Lisa started, "anymore smoochies with Spencer?"

Jo splashed her sister. "No. If you must know. I still don't even know what we are, I guess we are dating."

"You are two of the smartest people that I know yet you have no idea what is going on." Lisa chuckled.

Jo started to blush. "This is just all so new."

"New how? You and he have known each other forever and besides, I think you have both been secretly in love since the day you planted that kiss on him."

* * *

Reid entered his hotel room, shut the door and locked it. He then took out his phone and dialed Jo.

"Hey, I was waiting for you to call."

"I hope I'm not calling too late." He took a seat on the small sofa.

Jo smiled. "No, of course not. How is your case going?"

"We hit a wall; so to speak, we need to look at it in the morning with fresh eyes." He adjusted how he was seated to find a more comfortable position. "I did want to ask you something."

"Shoot." The line was quiet. "Spencer, this is usually the part where you ask your question."

"After I return from this case, did you want to… go to dinner… with me?"

Jo smirked. "Are you trying to ask me out on a date?"

Reid raised his eyebrows while nodding his head. "Yes."

"Of course. So where do you want to go?"

"It's a surprise." Reid smirked. "Hold on." He got up to answer the knock at the door. He saw Rossi and waved for him to come in. "Hey, Jo, I need to go. I will talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay, have a goodnight." She said happily.

"You too." He hung up, then turned to Rossi. "Did you find out something?"

Rossi went to take a seat at the small table. Reid sat down across from him. He opened up the file with a stack of papers inside and a picture of Paul in his officer's uniform.

"I called in some favors and got some information. Captain Paul Capello is a company commander and has served in the Corp for over five years. He has never been to the brig and no disciplinary actions listed in his file, quite the contrary. He has quickly advanced up the ranks. He joined out of college as a lieutenant, served as an interpreter, being a native of Italy. He has received several commendations and medals. On paper, he is the perfect Marine."

"But?" Reid questioned, he knew there was something else.

"But to me, he is a classic narcissist with major control issues. His life runs on his schedule. He has accomplished everything he has set out to get."

"Were you able to find out if he is back in the states?"

"Yes, he is at Quantico, like you thought. It looks like he is playing the political game now."

"That doesn't surprise me. He always wanted to run the world. I remember a story he told me that when he would play superheroes with his friends, he always wanted to play Lex Luthor."

"So now that we know that he is stationed at Quantico, what does that mean for Jo? What happened between them?"

"I was away at school when they were dating, so I didn't see a lot of things first hand. But their happy relationship changed when he became possessive and controlling."

"Was he abusive?" Rossi became concerned.

"Emotionally? Most definitely." Reid became uneasy. "I know of a few times he was physical with her and I wasn't there to stop it."

"Hey, Kid, it's not your fault that this guy is a creep. And Jo was able to get out of that relationship. Look at all of the things she has accomplished, the woman she has become. But here is the question. Are you going to tell her what you know?"

"I don't think so. I don't want her to constantly look over her shoulder."

* * *

Jo answered her ringing phone. "Hello? Oh, hi! I am so very excited. No one knows, not even Spencer. Yes. I will see you soon."


	24. She has even made Hotch smile

Jo slipped on a light blue sundress with white polka dots that flared out to her knees. After curling her hair, she gathered it up to the side with a bright yellow clip. She applied a subtle amount of make-up then slipped on her yellow flats. She beamed while looking at herself in the mirror.

Jo scurried to answer the door to see Reid smiling at her holding a bouquet of white daisies. "Oh, Spencer, they are beautiful."

"I know how much you love daisies." He said proudly with one hand in his pocket. He stood in front of her wearing a deep purple buttoned-up shirt, charcoal gray vest with matching slacks.

Jo put her flowers in a vase with some water.

"Are you ready?" He put out his hand to take hers.

She gladly gave her hand to him. "I am all yours."

They pulled up in front of the valet and exited the car. Jo looked up at the sign on the restaurant. "Spencer, this is Finucci's. This is the most high class place in town."

"I know how much you love Italian food." He took her arm in his and entered the eatery. He made reservations for the best table where they were quickly seated.

The evening progressed with the two of them having a wonderful time. They both enjoyed a sumptuous meal and relaxed while finishing their expensive wine.

Reid started to snicker.

"What's so funny?" Jo asked.

"The dress you are wearing reminds me of the bathing suit you wore to Annie McDonald's pool party."

Jo smirked. "Oh yeah, that's right. I guess I really like polka dots. That was such a fun party. My favorite was when we were playing chicken in the pool."

"I know, everyone thought we would be easy targets because of how small I was."

"But somehow we made a good team. Every time they tried to knock me off of you, I popped right back up. You just held onto me for dear life." She took a sip from her glass. "I just hated how Annie's bratty little brother kept unhooking my bikini top."

"Well, you did get him back by pushing him into the pool while he was fully dressed."

"And he didn't do it any time after that now did he?" She laughed. "You know she had a huge crush on you, right?"

Reid looked confused. "Who did?"

"Annie. She used to talk about you all the time. Any time we did anything, she wanted you to come with us. She would beg me to play chess with her so she could practice and play with you."

"But you don't like chess. Why would you play?"

"Because she did. I knew there was no way she would ever be an equal opponent but she wanted to so badly." Jo confessed.

"Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"I promised her that I wouldn't tell you. I guess it is okay to tell you now since she is happily married with two kids."

Reid paid for dinner and escorted Jo outside. "Did you want to go for a walk?"

"That sounds lovely."

The couple took a relaxing stroll around the populated shopping area, ignoring everyone else around them. He stopped under a lamplight, leaned in and the two shared their second romantic kiss.

* * *

Jo carried a stack of file folders in her arms and headed to the file cabinet where Agent Anderson was searching for a file.

"Can I help you find something?" She offered.

"I am looking for the Murdock case, it was here yesterday."

Jo sorted through the files she had. "Here, sorry, I took it."

"Thanks." He looked at the file then back up to her. "Oh, hey, was that you at the pool the other day?"

"Yes, my sister and I were doing some laps."

"I was looking at getting back into a swimming routine. Would you be interested?"

"Jo's eyes widened. "That sounds great."

"You should be careful, Anderson." Reid said as he approached. "She has competed with Neil Whitney."

"You don't mean the Olympian?"

Jo nodded. "Yes, he won the gold for the 200 meter butterfly."

"How do you know him?" Anderson asked.

"We were in the same swim class for a number of years, until he was too advanced. We were actually at the Games the same year. We would see each other in the Olympic Village whenever we could."

Morgan turned to Emily as they overheard the conversation. "Is there anything this girl can't do?"

"Doesn't seem like it. I hear she has even made Hotch smile." Emily proclaimed.

"Maybe Reid created her is some laboratory." Morgan suggested.

"Like Frankenstein's monster?" JJ asked.

"No, more like a fully functional android." Emily corrected.

Reid turned around. "I _can_ hear you. And you should know that an evil genius never reveals his secrets." He twirled his imaginary mustache like a villain that just tide a girl to the railroad tracks.

Jo approached the group, unaware they were talking about her. "Hey, I am having a small get-together at my place on Saturday night. Lisa will be leaving and I wanted to throw her a party. Are you able to come?" They all smiled, nodded and confirmed that they would be there.

* * *

Jo returned to her office to see a stack of mail waiting for her on her desk. She started to look through the standard correspondence that she received. At the bottom was a small padded envelope addressed to Special Agent Pierce. Curious, she opened it. There was a simple, white envelope inside. She slid out the card that read, "Joey, Congrats on the new job! Paul." There was a custom made "BAU" silver charm taped to the inside of the card.

Jo dropped it on her desk and sat down. She remembered when Paul first gave her the bracelet and the first charm was a heart. For every occasion, big or small, he gave her a new one. She still had the bracelet in an old cigar box buried in her closet.

"What does this mean? What am I supposed to do?"


	25. Come on Lalaloopsy

Jo stared at the same paragraph for ten minutes as Hotch walked into her office. "Jo?" He knew something was on her mind.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She looked up; after she snapped out of the fog she was in. "What can I do for you?"

"I just came to see if you were finished with that report?"

"Yes." She started to dig through the stacks of folders on her desk. "Here you go."

"Is there something on your mind?" Hotch asked, concerned.

"It's just one of the cases I'm looking into. Have you ever worked stalker cases?"

"I've done my share. Did you want me to take a look?"

"Oh no." She was quick to dismiss. "I was just imagining what it would be like to live like that. Must be scary, never knowing when he would just pop up."

"It can be. Sometimes it is good to understand the victims. But it isn't good to become too emotionally attached. So, if you feel like you are going there. Take a break in the case, or come see me and I'll help."

"Thanks." She gave a meager smile knowing she wasn't talking about any case but her own.

* * *

Garcia and Reid were already at Jo's apartment helping her and Lisa set up. Jo opened the door to see Agent Anderson holding a bottle of wine. "Grant, come on in." He handed over the bottle. She leaned in toward him. "Don't worry, I invited Gina, too."

"How did you…" He stuttered uncomfortably.

"Everyone knows. I'm not even a profiler and I knew."

One by one, the rest of the team arrived. Jo was pleasantly surprised to see Rossi and Hotch. Everyone had a drink in their hands, laughing and enjoying themselves.

Jo pulled Morgan aside and asked him to do her a special favor by bringing a present out from her room. She whispered to him the instructions that he needed to follow. Morgan grabbed Hotch to help him inside Jo's bedroom.

Morgan couldn't help but notice something shinny in her trash can. He reached in and pulled out the charm bracelet and the card with the new charm still taped to it. He then put it back when he hear Jo's cue. Hotch and Morgan pushed the huge box into her living room.

"Lisa. I wanted to get you a _little_ present before you left me. It took me a long time to find the right thing for you." Jo then stepped away from the wrapped box.

Lisa walked up, hesitant to open it, unsure of what it could be. She pulled off the top and her husband popped up. "Oh my god! Michael!"

He broke through the box and wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her.

"Wow." JJ remarked to Emily. "He looks just like Johnny Depp.

"I know, right. Good for you, Lisa!"

They both held up their glasses and took a drink.

Morgan pulled Hotch back aside and showed him what he found in the trash. "Do you think she threw these out on purpose?" Morgan then picked up the card and showed it to him.

Hotch read it and saw "Paul" written on the bottom. "Yeah, I think she meant to. Come on, we shouldn't be going through her things. She invited us to a party."

"Should we tell Reid?" Morgan asked.

"It's none of our business." Hotch insisted and pushed Morgan out of her room. Hotch went to close the door and noticed a pistol sticking out from under her pillow.

Rossi approached Reid. "So, have you changed your mind about telling her?"

Reid let out a sigh and nodded. "Yes, I think that I should. I just don't think tonight is a good night. I will need to find the right time."

"Do it sooner than later." Rossi urged.

On the other side of the apartment, Lisa pulled Jo aside. "How did you pull this off?"

"Michael and I have been planning it for a couple of weeks. He wanted to surprise you. I even managed to keep Spencer out of the loop."

The sisters then looked to see Michael and Spencer catching up.

Jo smiled. "I have always loved how Michael and Spencer get along. I mean, he isn't the easiest person to talk to sometimes. People tend to complain that he sounds like a robot."

"You mean like people have talked about me?" Lisa joked. "I think that's why it works. Michael understands it. Besides, he likes Spencer. He also likes that the two of you are dating."

Jo couldn't help but blush. "Okay, I need to go check on my guests." She walked around with bottles of wine. She went up to Rossi and Hotch, who were talking together. "Do you gentlemen need a top-up?"

Rossi held out his glass. "That would be great. Thanks, Kiddo."

Jo was glowing with happiness and went to check on her other friends.

Rossi took a drink of his freshly filled glass. "She looks like she is enjoying herself."

"Yes, she does." Hotch agreed.

"She needs it."

Hotch looked to Rossi. They both had fragments of what was going on in Jo's life. At that moment Hotch knew that Rossi had another piece of the puzzle.

A couple hours had past and as most of the guests departed, Jo was saying goodnight to a tipsy Garcia who was hanging off of Morgan. "Please get her home safely." Jo urged.

"Oh, you know I will." He reassured her. "Come on Lalaloopsy."

Garcia smiled and waved. "Good night! I love you all!"

Jo laughed as she said goodnight and shut the door. She looked to Lisa, Michael and Reid who were starting to clean up. "Oh, please don't do that. I will take care of it."

"Don't be silly." Lisa brushed her off. "We don't mind."

"Hey, Jo." Michael called. "We wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Well, Lisa and I were planning on going to New York for a couple of days and wanted to know if you would be able to come with us? Go see the sights, maybe a Broadway show. What do you think?" Michael smiled.

"That would be great. I will talk to Hotch tomorrow. I do have some time off available."


	26. Leaving on a jet plane

Jo and Anderson walked out of their respective locker rooms towards the pool as Reid and Garcia sat on a bench waiting for them. They both started to cheer. Garcia wore a shirt that said "cheerleading" on a megaphone while Spencer waved his old fashioned triangle banner that simply had "swim" written on it.

"You both look ridiculous." Jo snickered. "What are you doing here?"

Garcia picked up her pom poms. "We are here to cheer you on." She then turned her attention to Agent Anderson wearing only a speedo with a towel draped over his shoulder. "Oh, you're right, Grant, you aren't just a pretty face."

He silently blushed.

Jo tucked her hair under her cap then stepped off of the edge, dropping into the water. She got her goggles wet then pulled herself out. Anderson did the same.

Reid stood up. "Okay, are you guys ready?"

"Wait." Anderson stopped him. "What stroke are we doing?"

"How about something simple? 100 meter, free?"

He nodded then they both got onto a block. Reid called out for them to go and they launched into the water. The two stayed pretty consistent, even after their kick-turns.

Garcia yelled. "Go! Go! Go!" As they came back to the wall.

Anderson popped his head out of the water with Jo right behind.

"You're really good, Grant." Jo praised. "Do you ever do individual medleys?"

"Yeah, that's butterfly, back, breast, then free, right?"

Jo nodded.

"I'm game."

They took their marks and dove into the water. Garcia looked at Reid who was chuckling. "What's so funny?"

"Anderson is going to lose. This is Jo's event. She set him up."

Garcia looked to see that Jo was almost a full lap ahead of him. He started to gain speed at the last leg, which was the freestyle. But Jo was still a full body ahead of him.

Jo and Anderson were catching their breath at the edge of the pool. Reid approached and leaned over to congratulate Jo. She smiled. "Here, give me a kiss." She started to pull herself up to reach him but grabbed onto his arm and pulled him into the water. "Oh, I'm sorry." Jo said sarcastically. "I didn't mean to do that."

"Very funny." Reid remarked while wading in the water.

* * *

Reid walked out of the locker room in a fresh change of clothes and met up with Jo who was waiting for him. "You are lucky that I had my go-bag in my car otherwise you would be in big trouble." He gave her a wink.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist." She chuckled remembering the look on his face.

Reid grabbed her hand. "Hey, I need to talk to you about something."

She knew that what he had to say was serious. They walked over to the bench together. "Okay, shoot."

He let out a sigh then looked into her eyes. "Paul _is_ stationed at Quantico."

"What? How do you know?" Jo was stunned.

"I just wanted to do some checking. I thought about not telling you, but then if he approached you or called, I wanted you to be prepared."

Jo didn't say anything, just sat there and absorbed what he was saying. "Thank you, for confirming that for me, Spencer." She stood up. "I think I should be going." She rushed to the exit.

"Jo!" Reid called out for her.

* * *

Reid paced in front of the elevator on the sixth floor looking up every time he heard the ding sound. It finally happened. Jo stepped out of the car and came face to face with him. She was uncomfortable to see him but stopped anyway. "I left you several messages last night. Six, to be exact."

"Yes, I know. I heard them. I'm sorry but I wasn't in a talking mood." She started toward her office.

"Look Jo, I…"

"I understand." Jo cut him off. "Really I do. And I am not upset with you. I am just trying to sort all of this out, okay?"

"I just want you to know that you don't need to go through this alone." Reid reached out for her hand.

Jo gave him a smile. "I know that, and I love you for it. But some things I just have to do for myself. But look, I will be in New York with Lisa tonight. A few days away is just what I need."

"About that. I spoke to Garcia about taking you to the airport."

"Why would you do that?" Jo grew suspicious.

"I am going to be heading out on a case soon. I didn't want you to have to worry about anything."

Jo smiled. "Thank you, but I will call a cab. And we will keep in touch as much as possible."

"It might be a little difficult for me, I will be a rural area, without much cell service, but I will keep touch via LAN lines." He smirked.

"Of course, you use a rotary phone, Reiding." She teased.

"It still works."

She gave him a big hug followed by a kiss on the cheek. "You be safe and I will see you when we both get back."

* * *

While on the jet back home, Reid was staring out the window unaware that Rossi sat down across from him. "Something on your mind, Kid?"

"A great many things, actually."

"You told her about Capello, huh?"

Reid looked to Rossi and nodded.

"How'd she take it?"

"About as well as could be expected. She didn't seem too surprised but more like a reassurance that he was…" He stopped.

"He was what?" Rossi questioned.

"Haunting her." Reid looked confused. "That is the only way that I could describe it."

"Is she still in New York?"

Reid nodded. "Yes, she is supposed to be flying back this evening. I was going to go to the airport to surprise her."

"That sounds like a good plan."

After the jet landed, Reid dialed Jo. There was no answer but he left a message on her voicemail. "Hey, it's Spencer. We just landed, call me."

"Hey Kid." Morgan called out. "You calling your _girlfriend_?"

"I tried to. Went straight to voicemail. I think she might be on the plane already."

"You know she lied to me." Morgan said with a smile.

"Lied about what?"

"She said she never dated co-workers." He winked as he walked by.

Reid drove to the airport and looked for her incoming flight information, the plane was on time and landed ten minutes ago. He stood where the passengers came out towards baggage claim, looking for her. He dialed her up again and her phone went to voicemail. "It's Spencer, again. I am starting to get worried. Did you take a different flight? Give me a call." He then dialed Lisa. "Hey, Lisa, I was wondering if Jo was still with you or left already."

"Jo never came out."

"What?"

"She sent me a text before she was supposed to fly out that she was stuck at work and wouldn't be able to make it. Spencer, what is going on?"

"I am not sure, I will call you as soon as I know anything." Reid hung up with Lisa then dialed another number as he rushed to his car. "Garcia, I need to find Jo. Please track her cell phone for me."

Reid drove up to Jo's apartment building and ran to her door. First he pounded, but after there was no response, he used the spare key she gave him. He opened the door to find the place trashed. He searched but she wasn't there. He made another phone call. "Hotch, I need your help."


	27. Don't call me Joey!

Hotch and Rossi arrived at Jo's apartment. Reid let them in. "I am sorry for calling you so late."

"When was the last time you spoke with her?" Hotch got right to business.

"Right before we left on the last case. I said goodbye to her. She left me a message saying she was going to head to the airport, but nothing after that. We also didn't have any phone service."

Hotch got on the phone. "Garcia, were you able to track Jo's phone?"

"No, sir. I am not getting a signal. It could have been turned off or destroyed."

"I need you to trace her calls and texts for the past week, see if there is anything there. Also, she was going to take a flight to New York, see if she checked-in for that flight."

"Yes sir. I will call as soon as I have the answers." She hung up.

Hotch turned to Reid. "Rossi said you know who could have done this?"

"Yes, I believe it is her ex-boyfriend, Paul Capello. He has physically assaulted her before. She was terrified of him. He recently came back into town."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Hotch stared at Reid.

"All I knew was that he was transferred to the Marine Base at Quantico. He hadn't tried to reach out to her. He might not have even known she was here."

Hotch remembered the bracelet in the trash. He walked into the bedroom, picked up the trash can and brought it back. He dug through it, but the only thing in there was the card that he wrote. "I noticed that she threw away a charm bracelet and there was this card with a new charm taped on it. This came recently, Reid."

He took the card and read it. "She didn't tell me. She had a bracelet that he gave her, she didn't wear it anymore. I didn't even know that she still kept it."

Hotch picked up his phone. "Garcia, what do you have?"

"Okay, I show that she had a flight booked in her name but she was a no-show. Aside from the normal calls and texts that she sent and received, there was one sent about an hour before she was supposed to go on her flight that was to her sister. It just said 'I have to work, I am unable to make it, will call you later.'That is when her phone went silent."

"I need you to track down someone for me." He turned to Reid for his name. "Captain Paul Capello. He is her ex-boyfriend and we think he has her."

"I will get right on it."

Rossi looked at the packed bags by the door then turned to observe the mess. "There was obviously a struggle."

Hotch looked at the main door. "No forced entry, we need to get crime scene in here."

Reid stared at the daisies he gave her, scattered all over the floor among the broken pieces of the vase they were in. "It looks like someone threw this vase."

Rossi noticed her glock on the floor. "Must have been tossed over here."

...

 _Jo walked into her apartment and turned on her lamp to see Paul sitting in the chair staring at her. She dropped the mail that was in her hand, pulled out her weapon and pointed it at him. "What are you doing here? What do you want?" She demanded._

 _He held up the charm bracelet that she threw in the trash. "You know you should really take better care of your things, otherwise someone might get the wrong impression, Joey"_

" _Don't call me that." She said with hatred._

" _You used to love being called that."_

" _I used to love a lot of things." She sneered at him._

" _You should just put the weapon down. We both know that you aren't going to shoot me. I am unarmed and I am nowhere near to you. You would not be able to claim self-defense."_

" _You are going to leave my apartment before I call the police and report you for breaking and entering." She demanded._

 _Paul stood up. "Okay, you're right, I am leaving."_

 _Jo kept her glock pointed at him and stepped back allowing him room to leave. As he approached the door, he picked up the vase with her daisies and threw it at her. She ducked out of the way. He charged for her and was able to grab the gun out of her hand and threw it on the ground._

 _..._

Hotch looked into the bedroom, he remembered that she kept a pistol under her pillow. "She most likely ran into here, to grab another weapon." He picked up the pillow to find that it was gone.

The agents looked around the room. Rossi then pointed. "Look, a bullet hole." The three of them studied the damaged wall. "No blood splatter, that's a good thing."

Hotch tilted his head noticing a gash in the wall on the other side of the bed. He walked around and could see the drywall underneath the fresh indentation in the wall. He looked down then used his blue glove to pick up a .380 pistol. He smelled the barrel. "This has been fired recently." He then noticed the butt of the gun. "Look, blood."

...

 _Jo bolted to her bedroom. She went to grab her pistol that she had tucked under her pillow. Jo got ahold of it, cocked it and turned around. But he was right behind her, his hand grasped over hers and the gun went off. He then wrestled with her and they both landed on the bed. While he was on top of her he managed to get it out of her hands. He then bent over and forced a kiss. She kneed him in the groin. He used the gun and hit her over the head with it, then threw it across the room making a dent in the wall._

 _..._

Rossi looked at the disturbed bed. "We are going to need this bedspread checked." He stated.

"For what?" Reid questioned. Rossi stared at him. Reid then turned to Hotch looking for answers.

"Possible sexual assault." Hotch confessed.

"What?" Reid was dumbfounded and kept shaking his head.

Rossi lead him by the shoulders out of the bedroom. "Please go fill in the crime scene unit."

Hotch and Rossi looked at the broken picture frames on the ground along with several personal items that they believe were on the top of the dresser.

...

 _They continued to wrestle on the bed. He had the upper hand, strength, pressure and control. She only had fear. He picked her up at her waist while she continued to fail, knocking pictures off the wall, and items off of her dresser._

 _..._

As they left the bedroom, they noticed a piece of the doorframe was on the ground. Rossi crouched down. "Looks like he literally pulled her out of here."

...

 _Jo grabbed ahold of the doorframe that started to break as he continued to pull her. Before she knew it, she had a piece of the wooden frame in her hand that she then dropped._

...

They looked at the broken coffee table and lamp. "Well, someone was knocked over onto this table." Hotch observed.

"And a lamp busted over someone's head I presume." Rossi observed. "I can only hope that Jo got in a good shot."

"If they struggled this much, I don't think he had a weapon, otherwise she could have just gone with him willingly." Hotch reported. "And why leave both of hers here?"

"He must have carried her out. But I am sure that someone would remember a man carrying a passed out woman out of an apartment building."

"We need to have someone go knock on doors to see if they saw or heard anything."

...

 _Paul carried her into the living room and threw her down onto the coffee table causing it to break. He picked up the end table lamp and bashed it over her head. She laid on the rubble and stared up at the ceiling. He opened her mouth and forced her to swallow a pill. After a few minutes she became completely disoriented. He picked her up, wrapped her arm around his and walked her out. To any passerby she would look like she had too much to drink._


	28. I made a promise

Jo drifted in and out of consciousness. She moved her hand in front of her face to block the sun from shining brightly into her eyes from the large windows. She looked around but didn't recognize where she was. Jo felt the bedspread below her and saw that her shoes and socks were pulled off but she was relieved to see that her jeans and shirt were still on.

She tried to sit up but wasn't able to make her body respond. She had a terrible headache but didn't remember when she got hit in the head. Jo managed to turn herself around on the bed, hoping to see the other side of the room. But she came face to face with Paul who was asleep beside her.

Her heart was beating a mile a minute. She moved her legs off the bed but wasn't able to support herself and collapsed on the ground. She then dragged herself around the bed to get away.

Jo looked up at the door and could see the fire exit map and knew she was in a hotel room. After pushing herself up, she only had a few more feet until she reached the door.

"Looks like you fell out of bed." Paul reached down and gently picked her up and brought her back to the bed.

"No." Jo whimpered. "Please let me go."

"When I got a call from your father to make sure that you were okay, I knew that was a sign. This was the time for us to get back together." Paul said sincerely.

"I do not want to be with you. How many times do I need to say that we are over for you to get it?"

He got up, walked to the far side of the hotel room and then returned to her where he sat on the edge of the bed. He presented her with a bouquet of daisies wrapped in paper. "Look, your favorite."

"I recall you throwing the daises I had in a vase at me."

"I never wanted to hurt you, but I knew you wouldn't come with me. I needed to tell you how I feel, I needed to show you."

"So you thought the best way to do that was to kidnap an FBI Agent? You are committing a federal offense."

Paul leaned in closer to her and brushed the loose hair out of her face. "The things we do for love."

* * *

The team gathered at the round table.

"What did you find out about Capello?" Hotch asked Garcia.

"He was recently granted two weeks furlough. He stated that he had a family emergency. And he is off the grid."

Hotch turned to Emily. "What did you find at his home?"

"He hadn't been there for a few days. He had mail piling up but the place was clean, like really clean. Everything was perfect."

Reid was pacing back and forth to the side of the room. "Yes, he has an extreme obsessive compulsive disorder."

Garcia continued to type on her computer. "His phone, credit cards, everything haven't been in use for the past few days."

"JJ, go to his base and talk to his commanding officer." Hotch directed.

Rossi stood up. "I'll go too, I speak Marine."

Hotch looked at the rest of the team. "We need to look into any other possibilities in case Capello wasn't the one who took her."

Reid became upset. "What are you talking about? It is him! We need to be out there looking for her!"

Hotch focused on the team. "Please work on the other potential suspects." Hotch approached Reid. "You come with me."

Hotch led Reid into his office and had him sit down on the couch. "I need you to tell me about Capello." Hotch ordered.

"I hardly know him." Reid confessed.

"That may be true, but you will be able to recite every conversation you had with him; also every conversation you've had with Jo where she has mentioned him." Hotch put his hands on his hips. "Where would Capello take her? Maybe some place special to them?"

"I can't think of any place special." He got up to look out Hotch's window with his arms folded across his chest.

"I understand how difficult this is for you, but there is something you aren't telling me." Hotch said sincerely.

"I made a promise." Reid uttered.

Hotch took a step closer. "I am going to need to know everything."

"For what, Hotch?" Reid turned and faced him. "For a profile? We know who he is, we know what he is capable of! I am not going to give you details about how he raped and tormented her." Reid's eyes were welling up. "Three days, Hotch. Who knows what he has done to her in three days."

* * *

Jo was scared. She had been controlled, manipulated, and plagued by Paul before. But this time was different. There was something off when she looked in his eyes, as if all reason was gone. She didn't know what to do; any fight that she had in her has been replaced with terror and panic. He consistently gave her quick dissolving tranquilizers to keep her under his control.

Jo looked to Paul who was staring at her from the sitting chair. "Why are you doing this?"

"So we can be together. Joey, we can be an unbeatable political team. You would be the perfect politician's wife."

"I am not going to marry you." She shook her head with frustration.

"Of course you are, my love. We are engaged after all." He smiled at her.

Jo sighed. "No we are not." She then noticed that she had a large diamond ring on her finger. "Paul, we are not engaged, I am _not_ in love with you. I am in love with Spencer!"

He turned to her, his face riddled with hatred. "Spencer? That boy genius? He is not the one for you. I am!" He approached her and smacked her, hard, across the face. "I will not hear anything more about him, you understand?"

Jo nodded.

Paul grabbed one of his pills and forced it into her mouth.


	29. Joey, come back!

Garcia knocked on the office door. Hotch walked over and opened it. "The lab came back." She started, but got distracted by seeing Reid distraught.

"What did the lab find?" Hotch reached for the report in Garcia's hand.

"The prints in Jo's apartment were Capello's." She then looked at Reid. "Also, there were no traces of sexual activity."

Reid let out a sigh as he started to wipe his face.

Hotch looked over the report. "They found evidence that the lock was picked?"

"Yes." Garcia confirmed. "He could have entered the place before she even got home."

"Okay, thank you." Hotch shut the door after Garcia walked away. "He dropped the report on top of his desk. "Why would he take her?"

"I don't know. They broke up years ago."

"Was Jo the one who broke it off?"

"Yes, it took some time though, he wouldn't accept it. He kept going on and on about how they were supposed to be together forever, to get married."

* * *

Jo opened her eyes unsure of what day it was and wondered. _Does anyone even know that I am gone? I know Paul sent a text to Lisa, so she isn't looking for me. Is Spencer still on that case? Is he back? How long is this going to last?_ A single tear rolled down her cheek as she stared at the pink haze in the sky through the window as the sun was setting.

She could hear Paul talking to a room service attendant and she tried to call out, but the door was shut as she built up the courage.

Paul rolled The cart over and pulled the plate covers off of their dinner. "I got you a steak dinner, just how you like it." He poured the wine and set up the table with the plates. He then went to pick her up and placed her on the chair at the table. "Here, let me cut that for you." He cut up her steak and put the plate back in front of her like she was a child.

Jo reached for her fork, and had just enough control to be able to feed herself. As they ate, Paul smiled at her and reminded her of all the dinners they shared and how happy they were together. But Jo kept quiet, trying not to encourage his delusion but also making sure not to anger him. He wasn't acting rationally and she was afraid of how he would react to anything she did.

They finished their meal, and Paul helped her from the bathroom back to the bed. "Okay, you need to take another pill."

Jo didn't fight him this time and opened her mouth. He dropped it onto her tongue then got up to clean up the table. Jo took what was left of the pill out and stuffed it under the mattress. She couldn't help but absorb some into her system.

He fixated on her then began to undue the button to her jeans.

"No, don't!" She freaked out and pushed on him, but didn't have enough energy to keep him off.

"Relax, you're too uptight. That has always been your problem, Joey. I am just taking these off so you can rest more comfortably." He slid off her jeans and laid them over the arm of the chair. She was left in bed with her t-shirt and underwear. She rolled over and stared at the time on the alarm clock at the side of the bed until she was knocked out.

* * *

The team gathered back into the conference room as Rossi and JJ returned from speaking with his commanding officer.

"What were you able to find out?" Hotch asked.

Rossi took a seat. "I think we could have found his trigger. There was an accident at the base about a month ago and he took a big blow to the head."

"Since that accident, he started to talk about being engaged and getting married." JJ reported.

"The injury must have prompted some sort of fantasy about being engaged to Jo." Rossi surmised.

"That could explain why he didn't take the guns from Jo's apartment, he didn't want to use them. His goal is not to hurt her." Hotch looked to Reid.

Hotch turned to Garcia typing on her laptop. "Were you able to see if there were any hotels or anything similar in Capello's name?"

"I checked and nothing came up. I also searched under Jo's and zilch there too." An alert sounded on her laptop. She focused on her screen. "Huh, that's weird."

"What is it?"

"I was running a search into Capello's phone log and I got a match."

Reid looked up. "A match to whom?"

Garcia looked to Reid, stunned. "To Robert Pierce."

Rossi turned to Reid. "Why would he be speaking with Jo's father?"

"Robert always liked Paul. He wasn't very happy when they split up. He blamed her for them breaking up."

Rossi rolled his eyes. "And I thought he was a prick before."

Hotch tilted his head in thought. "Garcia, check and see if there are any hotel rooms in Robert Pierce's name."

Garcia feverishly typed. Her eyes widened. "Bingo. There was a suite in his name checked in three days ago."

Hotch stood up. "Let's go."

* * *

Paul crawled into bed next to her. Jo was awoken by him kissing the back of her neck. She cringed but kept her composure. His hands wandered as his molestation of her increased. "Oh how I missed you. Missed us."

"I don't want to do this." She said in a weak voice.

"But I want to. I need you. You complete me." He said passionately, in between kissing her.

Jo could feel his erection and knew what was going to happen next because it happened before. She faked a moan of enjoyment and turned onto her back to allow him to move on top of her. She clutched his hair into her hand and pulled him into a kiss. She reached for the alarm clock and pulled the plug out of the wall with one motion and struck him across the face knocking him off of her.

With what little control of her body she had, she got out of bed and headed for the door. Her knees buckled causing her to collapse. He came up behind her and she used her elbow and jabbed him into his belly, knocking the wind out of him. She pushed up and launched toward the door.

Jo ran into the wall in the hallway, picked herself up and started down the long corridor, unsure of where exactly she was or where she needed to go. She used her hand to brace herself against the wall as she charged forward.

The elevator opened and Hotch led his team down the hall.

Reid saw her. "Jo?" He holstered his weapon and ran up to her. Tears were streaming down her face as she fell into his arms.

Paul came out of the hotel room holding onto his stomach. "Joey, come back." He pleaded and fell to his knees, defeated.

Hotch approached with his weapon aimed at him. "Paul Capello, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of a Federal Agent."

Morgan cuffed him and escorted him down the hall as Paul continued to beseech Jo to come back to him.

Reid sat on the floor with Jo sobbing in his arms.


	30. Boyfriends and Fathers

JJ, Emily and Rossi entered the hotel room and cleared it.

"Did he think this was some kind of romantic getaway?" Emily holstered her weapon.

Rossi pulled the extra blanket from the closet and walked back out to the hallway where he draped it over Jo.

While she sat with Reid she wiped her face and forced composure. "He was delusional. I think something happened to him." Jo reported. She tried to get up but fell back down.

Hotch put his hand up in front of her. "Take it easy, the medics are on their way."

"He kept giving me sedatives. They're still in my system." She looked ashamed.

Hotch pulled out his ringing phone. "What do you have Garcia?"

"Please tell me that you found Jo and that she is okay." Garcia worried.

"Yes and she will be fine." Hotch stepped away to talk with her.

Reid grabbed ahold of Jo's hand. "What's this?" They both looked down at the ring on her finger.

"I need to get this thing off of me." She aggressively twisted the ring from her finger then threw it down the hall.

Rossi reached down, picked it up and walked toward Hotch.

"Thanks, Garcia." Hotch hung up the phone. "What's that?"

"An engagement ring. Looks like Capello was fully convinced that they were a happy couple."

Rossi saw the distress on Hotch's face. "What's wrong?"

"Looks like our conversation with Robert Pierce will take place sooner than later. He and his wife were already on a flight heading to D.C."

Rossi nodded. "I am going to go give them a personal escort to the BAU."

"Take Prentiss with you." Hotch called out.

The paramedics rushed down the hallway toward Jo. They got her quickly onto the gurney then escorted her with Reid by her side to the elevator.

Hotch met JJ in the hotel room.

"Other than the clock ripped from the wall, there is no other damage." She reported.

Hotch looked over the room where Jo was held captive.

* * *

Rossi and Prentiss escorted Jo's parents into the BAU.

"Mrs. Pierce, you can wait in here." Emily escorted her into a conference room.

"Wait." Robert Pierce barked. "My wife is staying with me."

"Well I am sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Pierce, but I have other accommodations for you." Rossi escorted him into an interrogation room.

Pierce sat at the table, incredibly agitated while Rossi stood in the corner of the room with his arms crossed staring at him.

"You can't just hold me against my will. I have rights!" He started to stand up.

"Sit down." Hotch ordered as he came into the room. He dropped a file onto the table and sat across from him. "Mr. Peirce, I am Agent Hotchner. Did you book a hotel room for Paul Capello?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Not that it is any of your business, but I was helping Paul surprise Jo with a weekend getaway. They just got engaged. But I am sure you know that already."

"Did she tell you the news of their engagement herself?" Hotch narrowed his eyes.

"No." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We've been estranged recently. Paul was helping us patch things up."

"Can you tell me how Paul and Jo's relationship ended?"

"Paul proposed, but Jo was too scared to make a commitment, so she broke it off."

"She never came to you to tell you that she needed help because she was in an abusive relationship?" Hotch asked, already knowing the answer.

"Look, you're taking this way out of proportion, just like she did. He was really protective of her. Jo was over reacting."

"After you refused to help your daughter, she tried to end the relationship on her own, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. He controlled every moment of her life including when she was going to have sex with him."

Rossi looked to Hotch, unaware of what Paul had done to her.

Hotch started to show his anger. "Are you aware that Jo was terrified of him? What about the fact that Paul Capello kidnapped your daughter and kept her drugged for the past three days?"

Robert stared at them in disbelief. "No, he couldn't…"

"He did." Rossi cut him off.

Hotch opened up the file and pulled out the pictures from Jo's apartment and spread them out in front of Robert.

Rossi leaned forward onto the table. "This is how we found your daughter's home."

Robert picked up the pictures to see the damage. "Is Jo okay?" He asked with worry in his eyes.

"She will be." Rossi said. "Why were you and your wife coming into town?"

"Paul invited us; we were supposed to celebrate their engagement. Oh my god." Robert leaned his face into his hands. "What have I done?"

"You turned your back on Jo when she needed her father most and then you contributed in her abduction." Rossi pushed.

"Contributed? Wait, I never wanted Jo to get hurt." Robert started to plead.

"Well it's too late for that." Rossi said with distain.

Hotch stood up. "I am going to leave you alone for a while we figure out if we are going to charge you with aiding and abetting in a felony."

Hotch and Rossi left Robert alone with the pictures from his daughter's apartment.

* * *

Jo woke up in the hospital with Reid staring at her. She instantly beamed with joy when she saw his face. "We need to stop meeting in hospitals."

"Joking is a good sign of recovery." He smirked. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." She looked at the IV attached to her wrist. "Do you know what he gave me?"

"It looks like either clonazepam or diazepam. The good news is because they were quick release dissolvable pills; they will be out of your system sooner. I am sure that you will be back to normal in a couple of days."

"She sure will." The doctor said standing in the doorway. "I hope you don't mind, Agent, I would like some time with my patient."

Reid stepped out of the room while the doctor updated Jo on her condition.

"Was a rape-kit taken?" Jo asked staring at the doctor.

"Yes, but we don't have the results yet."

"When you have them, please let me know."

The doctor finished up and allowed Reid to go back in. He sat down at the foot of her bed. "When you are discharged, I want you to come home with me."

"Spencer, that isn't necessary, really."

"I know, but I want to take care of you. Please let me." He said sincerely.


	31. Mothers and new families

Prentiss went back into the conference room and placed a plastic cup of water in front of Mrs. Peirce.

"Thank you." She said with a meek voice. She took a sip and then looked up. "Is Jo okay?"

Prentiss took a seat in the chair next to her. "She is now."

"Does this have something to do with Paul?"

"I'm afraid it does."

"I never liked him. He wasn't any good for Jo. He always had darkness in his eyes." Rebecca professed.

Prentiss nodded, unable to contribute her thoughts.

"Can you take me to my daughter, Agent Prentiss?"

"Let me see what I can do." Prentiss got up and left the room. After a short time, she returned. "Okay, I am able to take you."

They walked down the hospital corridor. Emily knocked on Jo's door and slowly opened it to see Reid sitting in a chair reading.

He looked up to see Emily and closed his book. He then stood up as soon as he saw Jo's mother walk in. "Mrs. Peirce." He kindly greeted her.

"Please, it's Rebecca." She approached him and grabbed both of his hands. "Oh, Spencer, it is so good to see you." She then turned and faced her sleeping daughter. "How is she?"

"She is recovering. She had a lot of drugs in her system." He placed the book down on the chair. "I'm going to give you some time." He stepped outside with Prentiss into the hallway.

Rebecca stood next to Jo and gently caressed her face and cupped her chin. "Oh, my little Jo."

"Mom?" Jo uttered. Then opened her eyes.

"Oh, sweetheart. I am so glad you are okay." She sat next to her on the bed and held her hand. "I saw Spencer. I love that he cut his hair."

Jo smirked. "It wasn't that long."

"It was always in his face." She started to rub down Jo's messy hair. "I am glad you both finally admitted your feelings for each other."

Jo was utterly surprised. "How could you…"

"A mother knows. I saw it in his eyes. That man has had nothing but love for you since you were both kids."

Reid paced out in the hallway next to Prentiss. "What's happening with her father?"

"He honestly had no idea what Paul was doing. We can't arrest him for being a bad father, as much as Hotch and Rossi want to."

"Jo would not be able to handle seeing him right now." Reid confessed.

"There is no way Hotch would allow that. So don't worry." She reassured her friend.

* * *

Reid assisted Jo in walking up the stairs toward his apartment. He continued to hold onto her when they reached the landing. "I am able to walk on my own, Reiding."

"I know, I am just making sure you get there safely." He opened his door.

She took a step in and glanced at the book shelves among the green walls of his apartment. "I love when I get to visit the library." She snickered

"Are you making fun of my home?" Reid tilted his head as he looked at her.

"No, of course not." She said sarcastically. Jo headed to the leather couch and took a seat. "I am going to call Lisa, okay?"

"Yes of course."

Jo picked up the vintage phone and dialed her sister.

"Hello?" Lisa answered.

"Hey, Lisa, guess where I am calling you from?" Jo asked in a lively tone.

"From Spencer's rotary phone because you think it's funny." Lisa replied knowing the answer.

"Yes I am and _it is_ funny! It takes like five minutes to place a call. Let's hope I don't have to dial 9-1-1." Reid threw a pillow at her. "Ow."

"I am glad you are feeling better." Lisa smiled. "Listen, I was talking with Michael, since you weren't able to come to New York, we want to come back there in the next couple of weeks."

"That sounds great."

"Well, make sure that you are taking it easy, you need to work on your recovery."

"Yes, Spencer is taking good care of me."

* * *

Jo opened her eyes to see Reid sitting up in the bed next to her reading. She closed her eyes and rolled over as she playfully slapped her hand onto his book.

"Hey." He looked at her smiling with her eyes closed pretending to snore. "I know you're awake."

"No I'm not." She teased, still with her eyes closed.

"We will just see about that." He started to tickle her sides.

Her body thrashed as laughter blurted out with enjoyment. He got on top of her and continued his joshing. Jo's eyes widened in panic. Reid instantly got off from on top of her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." He was almost afraid to touch her.

"Don't worry, it is not your fault. I am fine." She smiled at him and rubbed his arm.

"It is perfectly natural to be going through some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. You wouldn't even get out of bed for a week the last time."

"Did I tell you what my mom told me?" She said changing the subject.

"That she's happy that I cut my hair."

"She said that too, but about us."

Reid replayed their conversations in his head. "No."

"She said that she was happy that we finally admitted our feelings for each other. I didn't even tell her. She just knew." Jo leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

Jo walked down the hallway getting closer and closer to her apartment. "Ugh, I really don't want to have to clean up everything."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about." Reid confessed.

"What?"

Reid opened her door and she walked into her clean apartment with Garcia and Morgan beaming at her. "Surprise!" Garcia exclaimed.

"Wow." Jo looked to see the whole place was cleaned up, even her coffee table was replaced.

"I took care of the drywall in your room and replaced the doorframe." Morgan tapped on the new frame.

Jo gave them each a hug. "You guys are too kind."

Reid went into the refrigerator and pulled out a bouquet of while daisies. "I know that these might not bring the happiest thoughts to your mind at this time. But I want to make sure that you always remember the good times. When you look at these friendly flowers I want you to see the beauty that I see in you, and always know how much we love you."

She threw her arms around Reid. Then looked at all of them. "I am so happy to have you guys as my family."


	32. I need to tell you something

Morgan entered the restaurant and found Prentiss sitting at a table drinking a cup of coffee. "So sorry I am late." He took a seat across from her.

"It's no problem." She reassured him.

Morgan flipped through the menu.

"How is Savannah doing?" Prentiss asked.

"She's good. It's been hectic at the hospital but we are making it work."

"I really like her. She is good for you."

"And what about you? You have been going on a lot of first dates recently." Morgan smirked.

"Yeah, I guess it will just be me and Sergio forever." She chuckled. "Oh, I heard you finished fixing up Jo's apartment."

"Yes, she came by yesterday. I think Garcia was more excited than Jo was."

"So, how is Jo doing? I wanted to call, but honestly, I wasn't sure if I should or not."

"I think she's doing really well, considering. Besides she's got Reid. It's about time he has someone who makes him happy. He deserves it."

"And she does make him happy. Do you know when she is coming back to work? It is just so quiet without her."

"You just want her to bring in some more cookies." He teased.

She shrugged. "Well, that couldn't hurt."

* * *

Rossi stepped into the interrogation room where Paul Capello was waiting for him. "I hear you have been demanding to speak with someone from the FBI."

Hotch stood with his arms folded on the other side of the one-way mirror, studying Capello. He looked to his right as the door opened and Reid entered the room. "You shouldn't be here."

"I know, but I need to hear what he has to say."

Hotch nodded and fixated on Capello.

Rossi sat across Capello. "So, you got me here. What do you want?"

"I want Joey." He stated in a calm, cool tone.

"She doesn't like being called by that name." Rossi stated.

Capello was quick to correct Rossi. "She does when it is by me, no one else."

"Why is it so important for you to see her?"

"She is my fiancé. We need to make plans for our future."

"I am sorry, but your future doesn't include her."

"She belongs to me. She is mine. I love her." Capello proclaimed.

"Do you often hit the people that you love?"

"Joey was deliberately trying to upset me, she often does that when she wants my attention." He sat with a smug look on his face.

"What did she say or do to antagonize you?" Rossi questioned.

"She told me that she didn't love me. But that she was in love with the scarecrow."

Reid turned to Hotch. "Scarecrow?"

"He's referring to you." He replied without losing focus on Capello.

"Does Jo often try to anger you on purpose?"

"Occasionally but after a while, she remembers her place."

"Her place?" Rossi asked, knowing the answer.

Capello became aggressive and pointed his finger to the table. "She is mine… in every way."

Hotch noticed how Reid was becoming uncomfortable as the conversation progressed.

Rossi shook his head. "But she didn't want to be with you at all."

"That doesn't matter. Like I said, she is mine. And what I want, I always get."

"Even if that means you must kidnap her and keep her drugged up for days?"

"She needed to be reminded of how much she loves me." Capello tilted his head downward.

"And how do you do that?"

Capello looked up and glared at Rossi with a foreboding grin. "By making love to her." He closed his eyes as he replayed it in his mind. "Oh, how I missed her sweet scent. The touch of her skin." Then he looked directly into the mirror. "You would be amazed at the things I can make her do."

Hotch tried to grab Reid as he stormed out.

"Reid, wait." Hotch followed after him.

He opened the interrogation room door and charged toward Paul. Rossi stood up to stop him as Hotch took him and pulled him out of the room.

Hotch closed the door and put his hand up in front of Reid. "What do you think you were doing?"

"I'm sorry." He uttered while calming himself down.

"You could have compromised this interview if you laid a hand on him."

"I know." Reid looked toward the ground.

"I want you to get out of here."

"But, Hotch."

"Go." Hotch pointed down the hall. He then went back into the observation room where he saw Capello laughing.

Rossi placed his hands on top of the table and leaned forward. "So, what are you looking for, Capello?" What do you hope to get out of this conversation that you so desperately wanted? Because if you plan on seeing Jo, that isn't going to happen."

"I already got what I wanted." He chortled.

"Oh, and what was that?" Rossi was curious.

"I will forever be on Joey's mind. She will not be able to go to sleep or wake up without imagining me. The next time she has sex, I will be on the forefront of her mind. She won't be able to have a life with someone else without the thought of me consuming her."

Rossi was getting angry. "And why do you think that?"

"Because of Boy Wonder. I got him to hear about how I made passionate love to his girlfriend while he still hasn't been able to lock her down." He started to laugh again.

Rossi got up and left the room and met up with Hotch out in the hall. "He set this whole thing up as some sick, twisted game."

"Jo did say that he was delusional." Hotch recalled.

"What are we supposed to tell Jo?"

"Nothing right now." Hotch shook his head. "I don't think she could handle any more heartbreak at this point."

* * *

Reid knocked on Jo's door and anxiously awaited for her to answer. She opened the door. Her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and wearing pajama pants and a muscle shirt.

"Hey." She smiled.

"Hi." He walked in without making eye contact.

"What's wrong?" She shut the door and walked toward him.

"Rossi had an interview with Paul today." He paced in her living room.

"What?" She was shocked. "Why?"

"Apparently, Paul requested it." He stopped then turned to her. "I need to tell you something."

"Okay."

"Since you have started to work for the BAU and I got to see you every day, I felt like we did back at home when we were inseparable. I have gone over and over in my head what our relationship is. You are one of my oldest and closest friends. I am happy when I get to see you, I care about you. But I realized something today as I was listening to Paul."

"What was that?"

"I love you, Jo." He took a step closer to her. "I can't even explain it, I just know that I do."

"I love you, too, Spencer Reid."


	33. Oh, I am so glad you are back!

Jo entered the coffee shop where she noticed Hotch sitting alone at one of the tables in the back. She started toward him and could hear her high heels echo as she walked on the hardwood floor. She was dressed for work in a black pencil skirt and a soft pink, button-up blouse.

As she got closer, Hotch made eye contact and held out his hand, motioning her to sit in the open seat. He had a few file folders in front of him and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Jo was unsure of why he wanted to meet with her here and not at the BAU.

"Good morning." She smiled.

"How are you doing?" He asked, very straight forward.

"I am ready to get back to work." She stated, positively.

Hotch opened up a folder and held it up as he reviewed the information. "You have only been with the FBI for a couple of years, and only in the field for a few months."

"Yes, sir."

"In that short amount of time, you have been shot and wounded; killed a man; you were kidnapped by an UnSub; and not to mention kidnapped by your ex-boyfriend."

"Yes, sir." She replied, unsure of what he was getting at.

"You also didn't put in the paperwork to become a field agent, you were recommended."

Jo nodded in agreement.

"Is this still something you want to do? Or do you want to stay in a nice, safe office where being shot at isn't a daily possibility?" Hotch asked her directly.

"Sir, do you have concerns with me being out in the field?"

Hotch titled his head. "Could you please answer the question?"

"Yes, I want to be field agent." She stated confidently.

"Do you think you are able to handle the emotional toll this job can take on you?"

"Yes I do. I happen to think that our life experiences help us to grow and better learn how to handle things that will arise in the future." She let out a sigh. "I can't promise you that this job won't get to me; I think being human helps me to be able to do my job. But I can promise that I will always strive to do my very best."

"You have been doing that your entire life. You have had horrible things happen to you. This job could potentially add to that. I want to make sure you completely understand what you are signing up for. It isn't going to be easy."

"Nothing worth having ever is." She then scoffed. "Funny, my dad always says that."

"Have you talked with him?" He looked at her with caring eyes.

Jo looked down and shook her head. "No, and I don't plan on it." She then tilted her head back up trying to shake off the negativity she was feeling.

Hotch looked concerned. "Your world was turned upside down, recently. And that can have lasting effects. Just let me know when it gets to be too much."

Jo nodded. "I can do that."

Hotch stacked his files together. "Thank you for meeting me here today. I didn't want to have this conversation in the full view of the team, especially on your first day back."

"I appreciate that."

"I have an appointment with the director, I will see you at the BAU." Hotch got up from his chair.

"Yes sir, I will be there right after I get a cup of coffee." Jo went to stand in line. They nodded to each other as he walked out.

Jo waited patiently until the barista placed a to-go cup on the counter. "I have a mocha with no whipped cream at the bar."

"Thank you." Jo picked up her cup, turned around and almost ran into someone. She then looked up to see who it was.

"I never understood how anyone could not like whipped cream." Josh smiled at her.

"And I never understood how someone could cheat on their wife." Jo pushed past him and went outside.

Josh followed her. "Jo, wait up. You never let me explain."

"Explain what? _Oh hey, I'm married, I hope you don't mind being my mistress_. No thank you." She mocked.

"Look my wife and I are splitting up." Josh followed her as she walked down the sidewalk to her car.

"Yet you still have your wedding ring on." She countered.

"Jo, please wait."

Jo stopped and turned toward him. "Listen, Josh, I don't want to have anything to do with you, so leave me alone."

Josh grabbed onto her arm. "But, Jo."

She closed and opened her eyes in frustration. "Josh, I am telling you, you do not want to mess with me today, especially after the week I've had."

"You know, you are sexy when you are angry."

Jo jabbed the heel of her shoe into his foot and started to grind it in harder as he squirmed in pain. "I am warning you. Let go of me and leave me alone." She practically snarled.

Josh became irritated. "I don't know what you are so upset about, it's not like you even put-out, bitch."

Jo quickly turned and socked him in the face. "That is for being a dick." She then splashed her hot coffee on his crotch. "And that is for not telling me you were married." She walked around to the driver's side of her car, got in and drove off.

At the BAU, Hotch was heading down the hallway when the elevator doors opened and Jo stepped into the foyer. He glanced up at her and his eyes narrowed. "I thought you were getting coffee." He observed, thinking she wouldn't have finished it already.

She looked distracted. "Oh, I must have dropped it somewhere. I need to check-in with Penelope." She briskly headed toward Garcia's office.

He watched her walk away, realizing something transpired since their meeting a short time ago.

Jo knocked on Garcia's door frame.

Garcia swiveled around in her chair and beamed at Jo who was standing in her doorway. "Oh, I am so glad you are back!"


	34. She does have a mean right hook

Reid and Jo both walked into the gym. She dropped her bag on the floor and took off her jacket. He looked up to see she was wearing really tight leggings and a sports bra. "Please don't tell me you wear that when you work-out with Morgan."

She laughed. "No, of course not. Now, are you sure about this?"

"Yes. Getting you back into a safe and comfortable environment to fight in is good for you. Plus, you can help educate me."

"Okay, I trust you." She walked to the middle of the mat and chuckled. "I really love this look." She pointed up and down at Reid's outfit.

He looked at his button-down shirt that was tucked into his shorts and his mismatched socks. "What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head. "Okay, take your stance here. Put your hands up like this." She started to lightly grapple with him. She showed him how to block and how to throw a counter shot.

She was impressed with how much he was improving. She continued with her lesson. "I think you are ready to have Derek train you." Jo smirked.

"What?" Reid had a worried look on his face.

Jo laughed hysterically. "Oh, your face was priceless!" She put her hands back up in front of her. "Okay, so if I go to hit you here." She slowly went to jab his face and he blocked her. "Great."

She then stared at his shirt. "What's this?" She pointed to a spot on his chest. He looked down and she raised her finger and flicked him on the nose.

Reid tried to control his smirk as Jo fell on the floor with laughter.

"How come I wasn't invited to this party?" Morgan asked walking into the gym.

Jo stopped laughing and looked up to Morgan as he approached her. "Hey Derek, Spencer is ready for you."

"No, my lesson is done for the day." Reid insisted as he reached his hand out to help Jo back up from off the mat.

"You're lucky, Kid." Morgan patted him on the back. "She never wore that when we were training."

Reid leaned into Morgan. "That's because she is _my_ girlfriend." He smirked as he raised his eyebrows.

"Touché." Morgan smirked.

* * *

Jo started to straighten up her desk, getting ready for the end of her day when Rossi sauntered into her office with his hands in his pockets. "So, I just wanted to check on how you are doing now that you have returned."

"I'm doing pretty well." Jo nodded as she stood up. She picked up her bag and placed it on her desk, then took off her blazer and draped it over the bag.

Rossi noticed the large bruise on her arm that was left by Josh. "I think you and Morgan are working out a little too rough."

"Huh?" She then realized that he was speaking of her arm. "Oh, that's… not from that." She waved it off.

"That's too recent to be from Paul. What happened?" Rossi took a few steps closer to her.

"It isn't a big deal, honestly."

Rossi raised his eyebrow. "Jo, you know that I will eventually find out. I have my ways."

They both sat down in the chairs in front of her desk. "I ran into Josh the other day."

"He did this to you?" Rossi asked, protectively.

Jo nodded. "He kept trying to talk to me; he said that he needed to explain. But I wouldn't let him. I told him to leave me alone."

"And when he didn't?" Rossi asked.

"I jabbed the heel of my shoe into his foot and then punched him in the face." Jo sheepishly remarked.

"Is that all?" Rossi could tell there was more.

Jo bit her lip with a guilty look. "I also threw my coffee between his legs."

"I am sure that sent the appropriate message." He leaned forward. "So, what now?"

"I don't know. I honestly haven't thought that far out."

"Do you think this will add fuel to his fire or do you think he knows to leave you alone?"

Jo smirked. "I am hoping for the latter. I have been through so much to worry about him. I don't want to have one more thing go wrong."

Rossi patted her on her knee. "Tell you what. Don't worry about this right now, you work on getting past your last ordeal. But the second anything else happens with him, you need to let me know right away. Okay?"

Jo smiled, hearing Rossi's words were comforting and she knew that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Rossi stopped into Hotch's office and took a seat. He was busy writing in one of the many reports on his desk. "Something I can do for you, Dave?"

"Just out of curiosity, have you encountered that guy, Josh from your building since that night at my house?"

"Yes, I occasionally see him in the building. He tends to avoid me, since then." Hotch narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"I just want to make sure that he is keeping his distance."

"I can tell you that he hasn't been making friends lately, I saw him with a black-eye yesterday."

"She does have a mean right hook." Rossi smirked.

"Wait, are you saying that Jo hit him? When did this happen?"

Rossi filled in Hotch on what Jo told him. Hotch felt somewhat responsible for inviting her to that coffee shop in the first place. The two men agreed that they would be keeping an eye on things when it came to Jo.

* * *

Reid stood next to Jo as she looked at the throng of passengers filing into the baggage claim from their flights. "According to the flight manifest, they should be here any minute." He reassured her.

Jo and Lisa caught eyes and they ran to each other. Reid and Michael smiled and exchanged pleasantries. The sisters behaved like they had never been apart and walked a few feet in front of the men.

"Lisa hasn't stopped talking about this trip for the past week." Michael confessed.

Reid grinned. "Same with Jo."

"So, how has she been handling things since everything that happened?" Michael asked with genuine concern for his sister-in-law.

"Pretty good, actually. But we both know how Jo can be. She keeps everything close to the vest."

"Yes, I do. It runs in the family." Michael grabbed the bag just as it was making it's way toward them on the carousel.

"Jo made dinner reservations for Ricardo's. Lisa loved that place when she was out here before."

"That sounds great."

The couples left the airport on their way to dinner.


	35. Bowling night

The team returned to the BAU with go-bags in hands. Jo closed the filing cabinet once she saw them return. Her eyes met with Reid and he tilted his head toward the hallway behind him.

Jo said her hellos to the team as they walked in. She then bee-lined to the hallway. She turned the corner, and at the far end stood Reid, who was looking out the window with his hands in his pockets. As she got closer, he turned and smiled at her.

Reid wrapped his arms around her and they shared a sweet, simple kiss. "I missed you." He said softly.

"I'm glad that was a short trip. Does this mean we will still have our plans on for this weekend?"

Reid nodded. "But there is one thing I need for you to do for me."

"Sure."

"Well, we uh, took a vote. We want you to ask Hotch." Reid smirked.

Jo let out a sigh. "Oh, come on. You guys are so mean." She then broke into a smile then gave him a kiss on the cheek. She took a deep breath to muster some gumption then made her way to his office.

Jo stepped into Hotch's office. "Hello, sir."

"Jo, please come in." He greeted her.

"I wanted to see you about something." Jo stammered.

"What's that?"

"Well, we are all going bowling on Saturday and wanted to see if you will come."

Hotch looked slightly uncomfortable. "Oh, I don't think so. Bowling really isn't my thing."

"You could bring Jack. I know Henry would want him to come, since JJ is bringing him." Jo looked at him with puppy-dog eyes.

"I'll tell you what, I will consider it… for Jack."

"Of course. For Jack." Jo Smirked.

* * *

"Remind me again what I am doing here." Rossi said to Hotch as they walked into the bowling alley.

"It's good for the team morale. Plus Jack wanted his Uncle Dave to come."

Jack let go of his father's hand and ran up to Morgan who quickly scooped him up into his arms. "Hey, there little man. Are you ready to bowl?"

"Yeah!" Jack yelled, throwing his arms into the air.

Morgan carried him to the group. "You remember, Savannah, right?" He then put Jack down who instantly gravitated toward Henry.

The entire team was there plus; Jo invited Lisa and Michael. They already had two lanes and had created teams. Beers were flowing, snacks were scattered as everyone tried not to trip over the shoes they came there with.

"Okay, Spence. It's your turn." JJ announced.

Lisa nudged Jo as they watched Reid pick up his ball and prepare to throw it. "Just look at that butt." She whispered

"Lisa!" Jo blushed.

"What? That's a nice butt. That's a PhD butt. I can tell." Lisa chortled. "And just think, you could grab it any time you want."

Jo just stared at her sister. "Are you drunk?"

"A little."

Reid looked discouraged after he was only able to knock one pin down.

"Hey Spencer," Lisa called out, "don't forget to compensate for the direction changes because of the angular velocity vector."

"I know. I am taking into account the friction between the ball and the lane." He nodded thinking about his strategy.

"How about you just try your best." Jo encouraged.

Morgan clapped his hands. "Thank you, Jo! Games should be about fun and not math mumbo jumbo."

Rossi took a seat next to Michael who was sitting at the upper deck observing the bowlers. "You aren't going to join in?"

"No, I'm a horrible bowler." He admitted.

"Oh, congratulations. Jo mentioned that you had some art showing in France."

"Thank you. I'm kind of surprised, I didn't think it would have done that well." Michael watched Lisa and Jo laughing and getting along as if there was no age gap between them. "Looks like they are having fun."

Rossi fixated on Jo's smile. "Yes, they are."

Michael turned to Rossi. "I am no profiler or anything, but I can tell you care about her a great deal."

Rossi glanced back at him, wondering what he was getting at.

"I am glad she has someone looking out for her like you. She needs someone she can look up to. Especially with how Robert has been to her." He took a drink. "I am actually pleasantly surprised she turned out as well as she has, considering."

"Meaning what?" Rossi questioned.

"Well, most girls, when they don't receive the appropriate attention from their fathers tend to look for it from other men. This usually leads to a lot of bad decisions with a lot of bad men. Jo seemed to harness that energy into other things. I've always admired Jo for rising above the stereotypes and choose the more difficult path."

"It sounds like you care a lot about her, too."

"Of course, she's my sister-in-law. She's been like my own sister for eight years. Jo is a good kid who deserves to be happy."

They both turned to watch Reid whisper into Jo's ear and they both giggled.

Lisa looked up from her drink. "Ut oh. I know those expressions. You two are planning something."

Jo looked straight-faced to her sister. "I honestly have no idea what you are talking about."

Reid pulled Jack aside and started to softly give him some instructions.

Jo got up and stood before Hotch. "It's your turn."

"Oh no, I'm not playing." He put his hands up and shook his head.

"Come on, please. Take my turn. My wrist hurts." She started to rub her wrist.

Hotch looked at the lanes then back to her. The team was pushing for him to do it.

Garcia got up, picked out a ball for him and placed it in his hands. "Here you go sir."

Jo continued to push. "Please, do it for Jack. Show him how it's done."

Jack stood at the chair, closest to the lanes. "Please, Daddy."

Hotch let out a sigh. "Okay, for Jack." He stepped onto the wooden floor, took his stance then stepped into throwing the ball.

Reid gave Jack a nudge. Jack went behind his dad and smacked him on the butt. Hotch dropped the ball and it went down the gutter. He turned to see his son giggling then giving Reid a high-five. Then the rest of the team hysterically laughing.

Hotch put his hands on his hips and looked directly to Jo. "Very funny."


	36. That must make you feel utterly helpless

Garcia was typing on her keyboard as if she were a pianist. Jo ran in with a file in her hand. "Here it is, Penelope."

"Great, thank you." Garcia looked through the information then continued to pound on her keys.

"So, how many victims does this make?" Jo asked.

"Four, so far."

"This is so creepy. Just to be killed in a way that scares you. The UnSub changes the method for each victim. How often do you guys deal with someone like this?"

"It happens." Garcia sighed. "But when I think about it, I play the video of kittens going down a slide, always helps me forget.

"Is there anything else you need for me to do? I need to get back to the team."

"Ah, no, not right now, thank you." Garcia continued on her mission.

Jo walked up the stairs and headed to the roundtable room where she took her seat next to Emily.

Agent Anderson walked in. "Sir, the victim's parents are here."

"Please escort them to the meeting room." Hotch looked over to the group. "JJ, I would like for you to meet with them. See what you can find out."

The team continued to go over the current case.

Emily looked over the casefile. "So how many days was she left in that crate hung from the tree?"

"The police report shows that she was missing for three days."

Anderson walked back into the room. "Agent Hotchner, there is someone here demanding to speak to someone in charge."

"Okay, I will be right back." Hotch followed Anderson out of the room.

Jo turned to Reid. "So, what exactly is going on?"

"Our last victim, Emily Porter, was found this morning. She fell to her death after being put into a crate and suspended over thirty feet into the air and left there."

"How did you make the connections to the other victims? They didn't fall to their deaths." Jo questioned.

"True, but we have discovered that Emily Porter's biggest fear was heights. The other ones died to their fears. But on top of that in common, each of them had a quote on their body as a signature."

"What kind of quote?"

"They all were quotes by famous people, but the one thing consistent is that they all use the word 'helpless'."

"Which makes sense." Morgan added. "Since each of the victims died by their fears, something that made them feel helpless."

Reid continued. "Also, all of the victims were the same type of woman, early thirties, fit and brunette."

Garcia ran into the conference room. "Where is Hotch? I have an update for him."

Jo stood up. "I will go get him for you." Jo checked his office and could see Hotch talking with someone at his desk. She knocked on his door.

"Come in." Hotch called.

Jo opened the door and popped her head in. "Sir, Garcia says she needs you right away."

Hotch stood up. "Okay. Mr. Bennett, please go with Agent Pierce, she will escort you to one of the meeting rooms. I am going to have this letter sent to the lab."

"To a meeting room?" Mr. Bennett questioned. "My life is in danger. I am just a reporter, I only wrote articles on these victims. Why would this guy come after me?"

"That is what we are going to find out. Please excuse me, I will be with you as soon as I can." Hotch nodded to Jo on his way out.

"Just follow me, Mr. Bennett." Jo led the way. "Can I get you a cup of coffee, water or something?"

"No, I am okay. I am just shaken up by this whole thing."

"That is completely understandable."

After a short while, Jo opened the door to the meeting room and let Mr. Bennett in and shut the door. She sat in a seat across from him.

He sat down and looked around the room. His leg nervously bounced as his anticipation grew. "This whole thing is crazy."

Jo just looked at him and nodded.

"I mean, what kind of sick freak does this to people? To these young, sweet women? Just think about what these girls went through?" He tilted his head toward her. "What scares you, Agent Pierce?"

"Spiders." She said quickly, without being truthful.

"But you also work for the FBI, I am sure that you joined to make a difference. It must bother you when horrible things happen right in front of you and there is nothing you can do to stop it. That must make you feel utterly... helpless." He stared at her.

Jo looked up at him and put her hand over her holster.

* * *

"Garcia, what do you have?" Hotch asked.

She had her laptop opened up. "Okay, I ran all the parameters that you gave me. I have it narrowed down to eighteen people."

"That's too many." Rossi admitted. "Can you put all their names up on the screen? This UnSub wants power. He would have inserted himself into the investigation somehow."

"Wait a minute." Reid stood up. "This is the reporter who made the connection between the cases before the police could." He pointed to a name on the screen.

"What?" Hotch looked up from the file he was looking at. "What reporter?"

Reid turned to Hotch. "Chet Bennett. He fits the profile."

Hotch took off, racing to the meeting room where he sent Jo. The rest of the team followed.

"What's going on?" Morgan asked.

"Bennett was here earlier claiming he was receiving threats from our UnSub, I had Jo escort him to wait for me to interview him."

"Jo is alone with our UnSub?" Reid asked, stressed.

They approached the closed door. There was a fingerprint in blood on the door. Emily stood in front of the door, with her hand on the handle. All of them had their weapons drawn. Hotch nodded then Emily opened the door. They all charged in but Bennett was gone.

Jo was on the far end of the room, lying on the ground with her service weapon in her hand and had blood dripping from her head.

Reid and Prentiss both went to check on Jo. "I'm okay, really." She uttered while sitting up.

Rossi stood above her. "What happened?"

"He was babbling about the cases and then he started asking me about my fears and having horrible things happening around me. But he used the word 'helpless'. There was just something about the way he said it. I went to pull out my weapon but before I could do anything, he hit me over the head with something." She touched her head then looked at the blood on her fingers.

"Come on, we need to get you looked at." Reid helped her up.

"Is this like one of those membership card things? After 12 punches to my card, my next hospital visit if free?" Jo asked walking out of the room.

Rossi walked up to Hotch. "Well, at least she still has her humor."

"I already had JJ put an APB out for him. The building is on lockdown, but I am sure he is already long gone by now." Hotch shared.

"I wonder what this means for Jo." Rossi looked to Hotch. "She matches the description of the other victims."


	37. You Make Me Feel So Young

Michael walked through the park heading toward Reid who was playing chess by himself.

"Starting without me?" Michael observed.

Reid smirked. "No, just been waiting for you." Reid reset the board as Michael sat down. The two started to play.

"I'm glad we got a chance to do this. It's been a while." Michael moved his pawn.

"I miss having someone who is worth playing."

"Yeah, and I know how much Jo hates chess." He moved his rook. "She is actually the reason why I wanted to see you."

"Oh yeah?" Reid remained focused on the board.

"With everything that has been happening. Like with Jo going into the field, the issues with Paul, not to mention Robert, Lisa wants to move closer."

"That makes sense. Why did you want to speak to me about it?"

"Lisa knows that if she talked with Jo that she would say that it is no problem, regardless. She wanted to make sure that Jo would genuinely be good with this. The last thing Lisa wants is to feel like an overprotective sister."

Reid looked up to Michael. "I think Jo would love having you both closer. I know that I would."

"Having Jo transfer to your team was the best thing that could have happened to her." Michael grinned.

"How so?" Reid questioned.

"It brought her back to you."

Reid couldn't help but smile back at Michael.

* * *

"Hey Jo, wait up." Rossi called out to her.

"What's up?" She asked with a stack of case files in her hand.

"I have a very important project I would like for you to help me work on."

Jo looked at his sly expression. "Of course, just name it."

"I need you to bake me a cake." Rossi said with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, is this some kind of code? Do you need me to put a file in it or something? Why are you acting all coy?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. "It is a surprise, top secret. We will meet later and I will give you all the details." He gave her a wink and walked away.

Reid walked up after Rossi moved on. "What were you two whispering about?"

Jo looked up to him. "Oh, that? We are having a secret love affair."

Reid nodded with a smirk, knowing Jo's sense of humor.

* * *

Rossi answered his door to see Jo holding a large box in front of her. "Do you need me to help you?"

"Nope, just get out of my way." Jo headed over to the large island in his kitchen and put down the box. She opened it up and pulled out all of her supplies. Then wrapped in foil was the already baked cake. "I baked it last night and I will frost it here."

"That's a good idea."

"I hope you don't mind, but I like to play music when I am doing this." She pulled out her small speakers.

Rossi looked uncomfortable. "I don't know, people tend to have a difference in opinion when it comes to what music is."

Jo smirked. "I preset my _standards_ playlist. You will have nothing to worry about." She hooked up her phone and Rosemary Clooney started to sing _Give Me the Simple Life._

Jo looked over to Rossi who smiled and nodded. "Sometimes I forget how much I like you."

Jo and Rossi sang along to her playlist as she frosted her cake next to him washing his wine glasses. She put down her spatula and the frosting piping bag. "So, how does it look?"

"Not too shabby, Kiddo. Let's just hope it tastes as good as it looks."

Jo scoffed. "Oh, come on. Give me some credit."

Rossi dipped his finger into the frosting from the bowl. "Mm, this is good. And this is from scratch, too?"

"Yeah, that's why I am covered in powdered sugar. Good thing I brought a change of clothes. Speaking of which. I am going to do that now."

Jo stepped away into one of the bedrooms where she changed into her party dress. She came back to find Rossi was dancing by himself and singing along to _You Make Me Feel So Young_. Jo couldn't help but giggle. He turned around, grabbed her hand and pulled her into his dance. They spun around the room and Jo felt like they were Fred and Ginger.

Emily knocked on the door, but no one answered, she could hear the music and let herself in. She stood in the foyer watching them dance. Garcia soon stood by her side. They looked at each other then back at Rossi smiling as he and Jo moved around the floor.

Jo noticed that there was an audience forming and tapped him on the shoulder. Rossi became slightly embarrassed and released Jo.

Emily and Garcia both started to applaud. Rossi waved them off. "Oh, you are both just jealous."

"Of course we are." Emily smiled. "I would love to be able to dance with the _great_ David Rossi."

"Well, maybe when I can take you seriously, I will take you up on that." He said in jest. "Come on in, help yourself to a drink."

"You said the magic word." Garcia and Emily scurried to Rossi's open bar.

Jo picked up the cake and moved it onto the pedestal that she brought.

"That looks amazing." Reid remarked as he stood behind Jo.

"Thank you. It's not as nice as I wanted it, but it will have to do." She looked at it slightly discouraged.

"Stop it." Reid told her. "It's great!"

"Okay, you guys." Rossi silenced the group. "Dinner is almost ready. We are just waiting for our guest of honor to arrive."

The doorbell rang and Rossi went to open it. "Come on in."

Hotch took a step in and saw everyone staring at him. "What's going on, Dave?"

"Oh nothing much. Just a little social gathering." Rossi sounded nonchalant.

"You just don't usually like to invite people to your house for things like this."

Rossi put his finger up. "Ah, ah. Mansion." He corrected.

Hotch smirked.

"However I have been known to make exceptions on special occasions."

"Like what?" Hotch questioned, knowing he was up to something.

"Like for our team leader's birthday."

"Happy Birthday!" The crowd yelled.


	38. There was nothing I could do

Hotch stepped into the house dreading all of the focus on him. "We will discuss this later." He whispered to Rossi.

"Oh, come on, live a little." Rossi encouraged with a pat on his friend's back. "Don't worry, I said no presents." Hotch let the fawning begin. Garcia was the first to step forward and give him a hug.

Rossi quickly broke up the love fest. "Alright everyone, let's all sit down and eat."

Hotch was escorted to the head of the table across from Rossi and everyone else took a seat at the long dining table.

The group of friends laughed and enjoyed each other's company while Hotch soon forgot that this whole event was for him.

Emily wiped her mouth then placed her napkin down on the table. "Thank you so much, Rossi, that was glorious." Everyone emphatically agreed.

Hotch leaned over to Jo. "So, what's this I hear about you and Dave tearing up the dance floor together?"

"Don't worry, Hotch, there is enough room on my dance card for you." She laughed.

Hotch's became flush while acknowledging that he would want a cup of coffee when JJ asked the group.

Jo got up and started to cut the cake, Hotch insisted that no one was going to sing to him. Reid was right next to her placing the forks with the slices and handing them out to each person.

For the first time, the team was quiet as they devoured each savory bite of the fluffy cake. Jo licked the frosting off her fingers as her playlist ended and her Latin dance music started to play. Her eyes popped open, unable to turn it off with the sugar covering her hands.

Garcia bounced and swayed to the rhythm then pulled Morgan to the center of the room with her. Before Rossi's eyes his home turned into a nightclub. He turned to Jo. "I blame you for this."

"Take some of your own advice, _live a little_!" Jo joined the girls and Morgan in their dancing. Leaving Rossi, Hotch and Reid to drink their coffee.

Hotch nudged Reid. "Why don't you go dance with her?"

Reid pierced his lips together. "Because I don't know how to."

"Come on, Kid, you just put one foot in front of the other." Rossi joked.

* * *

Jo packed up her cake supplies and the pedestal back into the box she brought them in, she then went out to put the box into her car. She slammed the lid to her trunk after placing the box inside.

She turned when she heard screeching tires. A car whipped around the corner and came barreling down the street. Right before her eyes it passed her and bulldozed directing into a tree. Jo ran toward the car as the horn continued to blare.

The rest of the team came outside once they heard the crash. Morgan quickly assessed the situation and started after her. "Jo, wait!"

The car exploded. Jo was slightly knocked back. Morgan raised his arm to cover his head from the blast.

Jo picked herself up and ran to the driver's side of the car. Morgan grabbed her and pulled her back. "We have to help him!" Jo screamed.

"He's already gone." Morgan let her go once she stopped struggling. "He died instantly in the explosion."

In the distance the group could hear the sirens getting louder as they approached Rossi's home. Jo dropped on the ground and watched the car incinerate.

Reid came up to her and touched her shoulder. "Come on, Jo." He helped her up.

She faced him with watery eyes. "There was nothing I could do."

He nodded. "I know." Reid wrapped his arms around her. "I'm glad you weren't hurt."

Jo walked to the crowd and explained what she saw. They assumed that the driver must have been intoxicated.

Jo felt her phone vibrating in the pocket of her dress. She pulled it out and saw that she had a text message from an unknown number. "What the hell?"

"What is it?" Reid asked. She handed him her phone.

He read it with a puzzled look on his face. "I think Jo got a message from Chet Bennett." He announced.

"What does it say?" Hotch asked.

"We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day. Brad Meltzer." Reid then looked up at the group who were just as dumbfounded as he.

"Garcia…" Hotch started.

"Already on it." She grabbed JJ to go with her.

Hotch then approached Jo." Have you received anything else like this before?"

"No, not a thing." She turned and walked into the house.

Reid looked at Hotch while still holding onto her phone. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Let's see what Garcia is able to find out." Hotch then went to speak to the fire and rescue team.

Rossi entered his house to see Jo's back leaning against the counter with a bottle of wine in one hand and a glass in the other. She dumped more cabernet into the wide rimmed glass then gulped it down.

He walked over and took both away from her. "First of all, this is a '74 BV Cabernet. A case of this cost more than my first car. Secondly, this is not what you need right now." He took ahold of her hand and escorted her outside. He had her sit down on a bench where he sat next to her. "Okay, talk to me."

"About what?" She said in frustration.

"Anything. Tell me what you are feeling."

"I'm pissed off. An innocent person died because of me."

"We don't know why this person died. But if it was orchestrated by Bennett, then this is on him, not you. This isn't your fault, Jo."

She tried to hold back her tears. "Rossi, he killed those other girls… I don't want to be one of them."

He put his arm around her and pulled her into an embrace where she let herself go.


	39. Spence, are you in love?

Reid and Hotch escorted Jo to the BAU from Rossi's where Garcia was already tracing Jo's phone.

"What did you find, Garcia?" Hotch got right to business.

"Just like we thought, the text was placed from a burner phone. Also, that was the only usage on that phone. No calls were made or other texts sent or received." Garcia then answered her ringing phone. "Talk to me."

"Hey Garcia." JJ started. "I found the phone. It was dropped into a trash can. I am bringing it back to the lab for processing."

Agent Anderson walked into the office right on cue. "Here is the information on the driver." He handed it over to Hotch.

Hotch read over the report. "The driver's name is Walter Roberts. He is a habitual drug user, and the car was reported stolen." He closed the file then looked to the small group. "If Chet Bennett was able to orchestrate this accident right in front of Jo and be able to get her blocked number, there is no telling what he is able to do. I want you in protective custody."

"Hotch, honestly, I don't think that is necessary." Jo resisted.

"Until he is found, you are to be with another agent. I am not going to take any risks." Hotch insisted.

Reid stood up as Jo started to protest. "Don't worry, I will take her home." He grabbed onto Jo's hand and led her out of the room.

* * *

Reid and Jo stepped into her apartment. "Are you going to be alright?" He asked.

"Yes, I guess I am still trying to process everything." She looked frazzled.

Reid pulled out a blanket and laid it on the couch.

"Do you think you can stay with me, tonight?" She asked standing in her bedroom doorway.

"Of course." He followed her into the bedroom.

Jo opened her dresser drawer and placed a folded pair of pajamas on her bed.

Reid instantly recognized them. "Hey, I've been looking for those. Why do you have them?"

"I took them so you would have something to wear whenever you stayed over." She pulled out a set for herself.

He couldn't help but fall in love with her all over again as he leaned over and kissed her.

She turned her back to him. "Could you help me with my zipper?" She swooped her hair over her shoulder.

Reid slowly exposed her back and she dropped her dress onto the ground then stepped out. She then slipped on her pajamas.

The couple got into bed and she laid close to him, keeping her hand on his chest as they both started to drift off.

Jo opened her eyes then looked at the clock that illuminated 1:07. "Spencer, are you awake?"

"Hmm? What's wrong?" He asked, half asleep.

"Nothing." She leaned over, grabbed his shoulder and pulled him on top of her. They kissed, passionately. Jo's hands went under his shirt lightly scratched his back. She moved her fingertips to his hips and pulled him closer to her.

He separated from her embrace and took off his shirt. He then continued to kiss her hot lips. She clumsily pulled her shirt over her head then had to move her hair from in front of her face.

As they held each other, she could feel his excitement for her. He moved to kissing her neck then several pecks down her chest, stopping below her bellybutton. That's when he grabbed the waistband to her pajama bottoms and slid them off. With his removed, too, he went back to her hungry lips.

Their eyes met as she willingly accepted him. The two finally consummated their love for each other all night long.

* * *

Reid and Jo held hands as they rode up in the elevator. Just before they reached the sixth floor he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. They then let go of each other and stepped off and walked to their own desks.

Jo quickly got to work. She was given a new case to work on and didn't want to waste any time.

"Hey, Kiddo. How you holding up?" Rossi asked standing in front of her desk.

She looked up with a huge smile. "Good morning. I'm doing great. How are you?"

He stood staring at her. "Is this the same Jo that was crying in my arms last night?"

Jo looked up at him, genuinely confused. She had put everything but Spencer out of her mind. "Oh, yes. I meant that I am doing better."

"Aaron mentioned that you have a protective detail, how are you handling that?"

"It is okay. Spencer stayed with me last night." She couldn't help but blush, slightly.

Rossi started to nod. "Oh, I see. I am glad that he is taking good care of you."

* * *

Reid swiveled in his chair while playing with a pencil between his fingers.

"What's with you?" Emily asked.

"Huh?" He dropped the pencil then sat up straight in his chair.

"You've had this big dopey grin on your face all day."

"No I haven't" He blushed.

"JJ, come on." Emily asked for support.

"It's true." She sat on the edge of his desk. "So are you going to spill or what?"

"I really have no idea what you are talking about." Reid tried to derail the topic. At that moment, Jo walked into the bullpen where she went to the filing cabinet. Reid couldn't help but stare at her. They locked eyes before she went back to her desk and they beamed at each other.

Emily and JJ witness the exchange then both said, "Oh." In unison.

JJ looked at Reid. "Spence, are you in love?"

Reid didn't respond, but his ear to ear grin gave the answer the girls were expecting.

 **Chet Bennett is first mentioned in chapter 36, sorry it's taken me a while to post. Life has been crazy :)  
**


	40. Jogging, Coffee, and Maniacs

Reid got up from Jo's couch to open the door. Morgan stood in the hallway with his running clothes on. "GI Jo, your jogging partner is here." He informed her.

"You mean my babysitter." Jo called out from her bedroom.

"Oh, come on. I'm going to start to feel unwelcomed." Morgan smiled.

She stepped out of her room. "You know that I have no problem running with you. It's this whole _protective detail_ that I have an issue with. And out of anyone, I feel you would be the most understanding." She looked to Morgan.

"It's true. If it was me in this situation, I would feel the same as you. But I would be wrong. Hotch can sometimes be a pain in the ass, but in this case he is right."

Reid smirked. "See, I told you he would say that."

"Okay, I understand, doesn't mean that I have to like it." She tapped him on the chest. "Come on, Derek." She smiled at Reid. "I will deal with you when I get home."

"Have fun!" He shouted as they shut the door.

They made their way out of her building where she started to stretch her legs.

"So, which way do you go?" Morgan asked.

"I usually head north, then around the block. There is a coffee shop back there on the south side that I like to stop at on my way back."

"That sounds good, let's go." The two agents started their jog together. "So, are we going to talk about it or pretend like nothing is going on?" Morgan asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Reid."

"What about us?"

"Come on, everyone knows you are dating, you don't need to act like you aren't."

Jo became embarrassed "So, what you are saying is that everyone sits around and talks about us behind our backs?"

"No, that is not what I am saying. We… I am incredibly happy for you and glad that you are. I haven't seen Reid this way in a long time. Even Hotch is turning a blind eye to your relationship, and he wouldn't normally do that. It's because what you have is special."

"Thanks." Jo uttered, still blushing self-consciously. "Look, are we going to gab like a couple of ladies getting our hair done or are we going to run?" She changed the subject.

Morgan nodded. She smirked back at him then picked up speed. Soon the two were racing through the city streets.

Jo slowed down as they approached the coffee shop. She put her finger on her pulse as she was checking her heart-rate. "You know what I need? A big cup of caffeine after that adrenaline rush."

Morgan chuckled at her as they both went inside. A few minutes later they stepped outside with to-go ups in hand, laughing with each other.

"Hey, Jo!" A man called out from across the street.

She and Morgan looked up to see the man shoot a man in the back of the head, then took off running. Morgan darted after him.

Jo ran up to the victim and dialed 9-1-1.

A few minutes later, Morgan returned out of breath. "I lost him. It's like he just disappeared."

"He organized this." She said calmly. "He had a preset escape plan." She looked up to see Reid rushing toward her.

"Are you guys okay?"

"No, I'm not okay!" Morgan shouted. "The maniac just shot someone in front of us and was still able to get away!"

Reid looked to Jo. "Did you call Hotch after you called me?"

Jo nodded while keeping her eyes fixed on the man lying dead in front of her.

Metro cars and ambulances pulled up. Morgan went to report to them what transpired and that this was an ongoing FBI case.

Jo pulled out her phone and stared at it, as if she was willing it to ring.

"What is it?" Reid asked.

"I just keep waiting to receive another text message from him." She looked up at Reid. "Like the last time."

"Wait a second." Morgan crouched down. "Could you turn him over?" Morgan asked the paramedic. The body was turned on his side to reveal a trifolded piece of paper in his back pocket. Morgan pulled it out. "Here's your quote." He then read. "Do you know how helpless you feel if you have a full cup of coffee in your hand and you start to sneeze? Jean Kerr." He looked at Reid. "This guy is toying with us."

Hotch pulled up a few minutes later. He walked toward the scene, showed his credentials to the officers then walked to his agents. "What happened?" Morgan filled him in and showed him the quote.

Hotch approached Jo who still looked like she was in a daze. "We are down the street from your home, correct?" Jo nodded. "And this is the coffee shop you frequent?" She nodded again. "I am going to assume that he knows where you live and your routine. You aren't safe here anymore. He could have eyes on you right now."

"She can stay with me." Reid offered.

Hotch was quick to say no. "I am sure he has been keeping an eye on you, too." He spoke to Reid. He then crouched down next to her. "I have a safe house already set up for you. Dave will have the first shift."

Jo reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Hotch pulled Morgan aside. "I want you to escort her back to her place with these officers." Hotch pointed to the police by their side. "She needs to pack up a bag and you are going to take her to the BAU. From there we will take her to the safe house." Morgan took her arm and they started toward the police car. "And Morgan, make it fast."

Reid started to follow. Hotch put his hand in front of Reid's chest. "You wait with me."

"I want to go with her." He pleaded.

"No, I am sorry. You are going to stay with me. She needs other agents guarding her for right now."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Reid became defensive.

"If Bennett knows that you are dating her, you could become more of a target not only for her but for yourself. I am not going to allow that. Reid, you have to trust me. I am trying to do what is best for both of you."

Reid watched as Jo got into the police cruiser with Morgan and they drove off.


	41. We need to get ahead of him

Morgan and Jo walked into the BAU. Jo had already changed her clothes when she was packing her bag. "I'm going to be in my office." She walked away from him and Rossi approached shortly after.

"How is she holding up?" Rossi asked.

"She's hanging in there."

"And what about you?"

"Me? Well, I'm pissed off. How does someone just vanish? How does this guy just come out of nowhere six months ago? This isn't the first time he's done this." Morgan let his anger rip through his words.

"Garcia already checked VICAP, and nothing similar popped."

"Then we need to be doing something. We need to get ahead of him."

Rossi patted him on the shoulder. "Why don't you go change? We will regroup when Hotch gets here."

Rossi made his way to Jo's office. He found her on the floor of her office with papers and files spread out all around her. "You know, there is this new invention, it's called a chair." Rossi quipped.

"I need more room than what I can fit on my desk." She continued to skim through the paperwork. Picking it up and then putting it back down again.

"Do you need help? What are you looking for?" He crouched down next to her.

"I will know it when I see it. The answer has to be in here." Her hair fell in front of her face from her messy ponytail.

"I think you might need a break. Come on, let me get you to the safe house."

"I can't do that, Rossi. I am not going to hide from this guy." She snapped at him then continued to shuffle through the paperwork.

"Okay, I will be back. I would offer you some coffee, but I don't think you need any."

Rossi poured himself a cup at the break area. He waved Hotch over when he saw him step off the elevator. "I'm worried about Jo. She is frantically going through files in her office looking for an answer."

Hotch shrugged. "That is to be expected." He looked to Reid fidgeting at his desk. "Let's see what we can find out first then we can go from there."

Jo picked up her phone. "Hey, Penelope. Are you in your office, yet?"

"I just walked in. Are you okay?" Garcia asked with concern.

"Yes, I will be fine. Look, boot up your computers, I'll be there in a minute." Jo hung up and grabbed a few folders from in front of her. Hotch and Rossi both watched as she rushed down the hall, past them and toward Garcia's office. They both followed.

"Penelope, you have been searching for similar murders to the ones Bennett did, correct?" Jo asked.

"Yes, I have checked for everything. Nothing came remotely close." Garcia confessed.

"What about stalker cases?" Jo proposed.

Garcia's eyes widened. "No, I haven't looked at those." She rolled her chair over to her keyboard and went to work.

"I think he has always been a stalker, maybe something changed, that caused him to upgrade to killing."

Rossi took a step into the office. "Look for the same characteristics, leaving a note and the victimology."

Garcia typed all the details until her list narrowed. "Okay, I have five names."

Hotch leaned forward. "Pull up their pictures."

Five different men's images appeared on the screen.

"That's him." Jo pointed.

Garcia typed away. "Okay, creepy Chet Bennett's real name is Christopher Barry. He's been arrested twice for stalking and has a handful of restraining orders. But he is in the wind. I am not showing a bank account, credit cards, lease, bills, anything in his name. He has been off the grid for over a year."

Jo turned around to the senior agents. "Hotch, the only way we are going to catch him is for me to be out there. I can't stay locked up in some safe house. He needs to be able to follow me."

Hotch shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"She has a point, Aaron. We could keep all eyes on her." Rossi countered.

"Dave, he knows what all of the team looks like, he is going to know that we are waiting for him."

"Then let's use other agents and metro. That is the only way we are going to get him."

Hotch folded his arms. "I don't feel comfortable with you being out there as bait." He focused on Jo.

"This is my idea." She looked to Rossi. "I am the one he is after. Shouldn't I be able to have a say in this?"

Hotch let out a sigh. "Let me make the arrangements and see what we can do. But, in the meantime, I need you to go with Dave to the safe house."

Jo smiled. "No problem. Let me go clean up my office."

Jo was picking up all the papers she had scattered around her office floor. Reid stood in her doorway. "This reminds me of when you would study for a test." He smirked at her.

She looked up and could tell something was bothering him. "They told you, huh?" She asked.

"I don't want you to do this." He said sincerely.

Jo stood up and put the stack on her desk. "Can you think of another way? Because I can't. We can't have any more innocent people die. I won't let that be on my conscience."

Reid rapidly blinked his eyes in thought, unable to find a comparable solution. "Promise me something?"

"Of course."

"To be safe."

She reached over and held him tightly. "You better believe it." She stepped back and touched her finger to her eyes trying to stop them from tearing up. "Listen. Hotch doesn't want me to have contact with anyone, in case he is tracking my calls or emails. Please let Lisa know that I am okay, and that I will call her as soon as I am able."

Reid nodded. "I will."

"Thanks." She smiled. "I better go. Rossi is waiting for me." She leaned forward and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.


	42. A simple thank you will suffice

Morgan stood in front of a car with its hood up pretending to be working on the engine. "How are you guys going?" He asked, speaking into the small microphone on his wrist.

"We're still here." Jo responded. She and Reid were sitting at an outdoor café having a cup of coffee.

Reid looked around. "Still no sight of him. How many more days do you think we will need to keep doing this?"

Morgan took another look around. "Yeah, we will probably be packing it in for today and start again tomorrow. It doesn't look like this Chet Bennett or Christopher Barry, whatever name is going by will be showing his face. Metro is getting a little restless." He started to wipe his hands with a rag.

"That's probably a good idea." Reid agreed.

Morgan slammed the car hood. "Well, this only makes me more pissed off. I am tired of him having the upper hand."

"Like you said, we will start again tomorrow." Jo took a sip of her coffee. She then looked to Reid. The two got up and started to make their way out of the shopping district.

Morgan looked at a group of people exiting the city bus. "Wait a second, guys."

A man fitting Christopher Barry's description turned and met eyes with Morgan. He smiled at the agent then took off running down the street.

"I got him!" Morgan yelled while in pursuit.

"Wait!" Jo yelled. She and Reid took off after them. Reid called in the situation to the other officers as Jo picked up speed.

Jo turned the corner into a back alley behind a Chinese restaurant. She could see that Barry standing behind Morgan holding a gun to his head. Morgan's face was bleeding. There was a large metal pipe lying on the ground, that's what he must have used to gain the advantage over Morgan.

Jo took a few steps closer holding her glock out in front of her, pointed directly at Barry. Reid came right behind her with his Smith and Wesson in hands.

"You have nowhere to go. You need to release him." Jo ordered, taking another few steps closer.

"I don't think you understand. I can't do that."

"You're right. I don't understand. But he hasn't done anything to you. I need you to put your gun down." Jo held her aim. "It's over!"

"It's over when I say it's over!" He yelled. "Say goodbye to your friend." He pushed the gun barrel into Morgan's temple. Morgan closed his eyes, tightly.

Just then a shot rang out. Morgan opened his eyes and looked to see Barry on the ground with a bullet hole in his forehead. He stared back up to Jo with shock on his face. "Could that have been any closer? The guy's face was right next to mine."

"A simple _thank you_ will suffice." Jo smirked.

* * *

Jo stayed with Morgan as the medics were checking out his face.

Rossi soon approached with Hotch a few steps behind. "That looks like it hurt." Rossi studied Morgan's wound.

"Yeah, tell me about it. They say that I will need some stiches."

Hotch looked to Morgan. "Where was your back-up?"

Morgan angrily stood up. "I wasn't letting that psychopath get away again."

"We will discuss this later. I want you get to get that patched up first." He then turned his attention to Jo. "What happened?"

"Derek reported that he had eyes on Barry and took off after him. Spencer and I followed. When I turned down the alley, Derek was being held at gunpoint. Barry was going to shoot. I shot first."

Hotch folded his arms across his chest. "I am going to have a hard time explaining to the Director why the subject of Barry's obsession was the one who killed him."

"She saved my life, Hotch." Morgan took a step closer.

Hotch nodded. A member of the crime scene unit approached. "Sir, we found this in his pocket."

Hotch took the piece of paper and unfolded it then read aloud. "Victims always feel alone and helpless. Deepak Chopra."

"It appears that he knew that he was going to get caught." Reid observed.

"Or it was to place on his next victim." Rossi added.

"I guess we will never know." Hotch looked back at Barry's lifeless body.

* * *

Jo walked into her apartment after days of living in the safe house. She dropped her bag on the floor while still holding onto a stack of mail and her phone in the other hand. "Yes, I just walked into my place. Okay, I will check all the rooms. Yes, I will use my gun." Jo smiled as she placed her phone down on her table and went to check out her apartment to appease her sister. After clearing all the rooms she picked back up the phone. "Everything is fine and my door is locked."

She sorted through her envelopes while still chatting with Lisa. She then focused on handwriting that was familiar to her. Jo ripped open the envelope, completely oblivious to what her sister was going on about. She then looked at a handwritten letter from her father. "Hey Lisa, let me go, I need to take care of something." Jo hung up the phone then took a seat on the couch to focus on his words.

 _My Sweet Jo,_

 _I understand if you still do not want to have anything to do with me, I wouldn't blame you. I am going to live the rest of my life hoping for your forgiveness, even though it is something that I can't give to myself. A father is supposed to be there to love and protect his children, not send them into the lion's den. I am sorry that I wasn't there for you. I am sorry that I let you down. You deserve nothing but great things in life and I haven't given any to you. I am optimistic that someday that you will be able to reach out to me. But until then, I will never give up hope that I will be able to have you in my life again._

 _I love you,_

 _Dad_


	43. What about sixteen?

Jo entered the BAU carrying two trays of paper coffee cups in front of her. She placed one on each member's desk.

"Thank you, you didn't have to." Emily smiled while smelling her steamy drink.

"I know, but I didn't have any time to bake anything." I will see you guys later.

"Too bad, a snickerdoodle would go great with this." Emily smirked.

"Tell me about it." Added JJ.

Jo entered Garcia's office. "Here you are, Penelope. I got you an English Breakfast this morning." Jo handed her the cup of tea.

"Oh, I am most gracious. You are an absolute angel."

"What are you working on?" Jo looked at the mosaic of pictures on her screen.

"Oh, some various cases from VICAP. I am working on where we go next. Then I will be cueing up my kittens playing with string video to erase these images from my mind.

Jo studied one of the pictures on the screen. "Well, I have some work to do. I will see you later." Jo quickly headed to her office and started to flip through her files. After going through a stack of twenty or so, she pulled one aside and reviewed every inch of it but primarily focusing on the crime scene photo.

Her next step was looking into VICAP. She pulled up the same case Garcia was looking at and printed it out. Jo was on a mission and was voracious to find more information.

Several house later, Jo had case files scattered throughout her office. She sat on the floor flipping through cases after case, tossing them aside and picking up a new one.

"Hey, I wanted to see…" Reid looked around her office. "If you wanted to get some lunch."

"I don't have time, thanks." Jo never deviated from her mission.

Reid bent down to pick up one of the folders. "Can I help you?"

Jo stretched out her hand toward him. "Don't touch that!" She yelled. "I'm sorry, I just have things in a specific order."

Reid raised his eyebrows as he observed the mess she had made. "I really think you should get something to eat."

"Thanks, Reiding. But I am not hungry right now. I will eat later" She continued to scour through all of the paperwork.

* * *

Hours later, Reid threw his messenger bag strap over his shoulder.

"Is Jo coming with us?" Morgan asked.

"I don't think so. She said that she is still working on some paperwork. She said she would leave soon, though."

"You seem concerned, Kid."

"I've just seen that kind of look before. She won't stop until she has found what she is looking for."

Morgan smiled. "Well, let's hope she finds it soon." The two stepped onto the elevator.

Jo picked up her phone and dialed Agent Anderson. "Grant, its Jo. Listen, I need your help getting some files."

She then made her way into the bullpen and dug through the cabinets. She had been there for hours and kicked off her shoes. She crouched down in front of the lowest drawer.

Hotch started down the stairs towards her. "Jo?" He stared at her. "It's past eight."

"Oh, I know." She stood up onto her bare feet. "I am leaving soon. I am almost done." Stood up and gave him a smile with her shoes in her hand. She started back toward her office.

Hotch stopped in front of the elevator. "Make sure you lock the door." He gave a simple smirk.

"Okay, Dad." She sassed back as the metal doors closed.

Just then the other door opened and Anderson stepped him pushing a dolly with five file boxes stacked on it. "Where would you like me to put these?

"In my office, please." She followed him. "You are a real life saver!"

"Okay, need anything else? Because I kind of have a date with Gina."

"Thanks, Grant. I have everything. Go enjoy yourself."

Anderson took off as Jo opened the first box. She pulled out the files and delved into them spending several hours going over each detail.

* * *

Jo went to pour herself a cup of coffee in the break room just as the sun started to peek through the windows. Jo couldn't help but yawn as she poured in her sugar.

Hotch took a step up behind her. He glanced at the outfit she was wearing from yesterday. "Have you been here all night?" He asked, concerned.

"Yes, I was finishing up something really important." She started to walk back to her office and sat back down in front of her files.

Hotch followed and discovered her normal neat and orderly office a shambles. "Jo, look, I can appreciate everything you've been through and wanting to be focused into your work. But I think this is too much." He reached down and picked her up from the floor. "I'm worried about you, Jo."

"Hotch, look, I found a connection between some of these cases." Jo pulled out the first three files she was looking at and handed them to him. "Look at these. Three closed cases where women have been killed in various cities throughout the country."

"Okay, they're closed, that's a good thing."

"Yes, but I believe the wrong people were put in jail for these crimes." She took out the three crime scene photos. "Look, they are exactly the same. White women, early thirties, redheads, smothered with their pillows then placed with their arms over their abdomens, posed to look peaceful, almost like a Madonna."

"I will agree that this could be a remarkable coincidence, but we can't just open closed cases on your hunch based off of three cases."

"What about sixteen?"

Hotch titled his head. "Sixteen what?"

Jo picked up the stack of cases and dropped them on her desk in front of Hotch. Sixteen women fitting the same characteristics, spread-out all over the county. There was never any connection made… until now. What if we are dealing with some sort of traveling serial like Frank Breitkopt?"

Hotch looked through all the crime scene photos. "If I didn't know any better, would say these were all the same scene. All the woman were posed exactly the same. Why wasn't there a connection made over VICAP?"

"Some cases have been closed. Which means that some people were put away for a crime they didn't commit. Some of these places are small towns, some haven't been caught up to the digital age yet. I had to dig through a lot of paper files."

Jo cleared a space away on her couch for Hotch to take a seat. He looked through each file as Jo looked on anxious for his opinion. He closed the last folder. "Okay, Jo. I think you found something. Sixteen cases across multiple state lines, this is a federal case. Let's go see Garcia to see what else we can get.


	44. Fathers and Espresso

Morgan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. "How much longer do we have to wait for this guy?"

Rossi lowered the binoculars he was looking through. "We wait as long as it takes."

The two agents sat in their parked car, down the street from the UnSub that they were able to identify as William Bardonaro.

"Come on, Rossi, let's just go knock on this guy's door." Morgan insisted.

"We have no evidence, only the profile. So we wait and we follow him." Rossi answered sharply. He then picked up his ringing cell phone. "That's right, Aaron, no sign of him yet. Okay, thanks." He hung up. "Reid and Prentiss will take over in an hour."

"Good, I don't know how much longer I can just sit and wait for this guy to make a move." Morgan griped.

*** One Month Earlier***

Reid was staring at the map of the United States that he posted up on the bulletin board. He had marked the cities where the sixteen victims had been killed.

"You still haven't found anything?" JJ asked as she approached.

"No, not yet." He focused and processed alga rhythms and equations in his head as he reviewed the map.

JJ looked at it. "I think you might be over thinking this whole thing."

Reid turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"What if there isn't any discernible pattern to these cases? What if it's just random cities? Or places he just happens to be on business in?"

"Yes, that is possible. But if there is a pattern, I want to be able to find it." He went back to squinting at the map.

Morgan approached. "Still no luck?"

JJ looked and tilted her head then stood up. "Reid, do you mind if I try something?" He took a step away and watched as she used a pen to connect the dots. "Look at the shapes." She had created two separate hexagons and started a third one. "Look, this one starts in Batesville, Arkansas, then Cass, Illinois, after that in Findlay, Ohio."

"The next one will be in Roanoke." Reid observed.

"Right in our own backyard." JJ smirked.

Morgan tapped Reid on the back. "I think your brain needs a tune-up, genius."

Reid then went into Hotch's office. "We discovered where he is going to strike next."

Hotch got up from his desk and followed Reid to the map. "So, you finally figured out his pattern?"

"Well, actually, JJ did." Reid corrected.

Hotch turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"What? I've been working on shapes with Henry. I have geometry on the brain." She smiled. "Now we just need to figure out when."

* * *

Jo knocked on Rossi's door and let herself in. "Hey, I need something stronger than regular coffee. Do you mind?" She eyed the espresso maker in the corner of his office.

"Help yourself." He stopped what he was working on.

"Do you want one?" She asked as she was scooping out the grounds.

"I'm good." He took a pause. "So, you still not sleeping well?"

"Yeah." She answered instinctively, then looked up at him. "How did you know?"

"Do I need to remind you of what I do for a living?" He smirked.

Jo shrugged realizing that she should have known that she can't keep anything from him anymore. She poured her coffee then made her way to the small sofa and took a seat.

Rossi sat down next to her. "So, tell me what's going on, Kiddo."

"I mean, it isn't really a big deal. I mean, it shouldn't be. Well, obviously it is enough of a deal for my subconscious to keep me up at night…"

Rossi put his hand up. "You're rambling."

Jo smiled. "You're right." She paused to collect her thoughts. "A couple of weeks ago I received a letter from my dad."

"Ah ha." Rossi nodded.

"He basically apologized and said that he was asking for my forgiveness but would understand if I didn't want to give it." She then drank some coffee.

"So, how do you feel about it?"

Jo let out a sigh. "I'm honestly torn up about it. On the one hand, the things he's done have been horrible. And not even this past year, my entire life. He's blamed me for my mother dying and has made sure that I knew it. On the other hand, he is my dad, and I could tell how sincere he was. He is truly sorry." Jo let out a long breath then stared at the floor.

"I don't think this is a decision you have to make right now." Jo looked up at him. "He wrote you a letter, he didn't come see you or call you. He also said he understood if you wouldn't forgive him. He is just making the first step, putting out the olive branch, as it were. You answer him or don't when _you_ are ready. Try and put this out of your mind for right now. When the time is right, you will know."

Jo held her cup between her two hands and rested her head on his shoulder. "You would have been a great father, Dave."

Rossi smiled. "You've never called me Dave before."

Jo wiped the lone tear from her eye. "Well, you don't need to get all mushy on me." She then playfully nudged him with her shoulder.


	45. This place is charming

Jo pulled up in front of a house with a For Sale sign in front of it, she parked and got out.

Lisa walked out from the front door. "Jo! What do you think? Look at this yard! Come inside!" She grabbed her arm and pulled her into the house.

"Okay, give me a minute to see everything." Jo urged. She walked into the spacious home.

It was obvious that Lisa wanted to move in right away. Jo walked through each room, imagining along with Lisa as she told her what furniture would go where. They stopped in the kitchen where they examined the cabinets and the large area for a kitchenette table.

Jo saw Michael standing in the backyard. "And what does Michael think?"

"He loves this place, too, of course." Lisa smiled. "Come on, let's go check upstairs."

"In a minute, I want to take a look out back." Jo walked onto the patio and closed the sliding door. "So, do you absolutely love it?" Jo asked in a mocking tone.

"It's a nice home." He looked up toward the second story.

"But?" Jo asked, knowing there was something bothering him.

"It is going to need a lot of improvements. I just don't know if I have the time or money to get them all done." He put his hands on his hips.

"How bad are they?"

"Some of the roof will need to be redone, if we get a hard rain we will have some leaks. Some cracks in the walls, some fixtures, bits and pieces." He looked overwhelmed.

"What about some of the other houses you looked at?"

"They honestly don't compare to this one. I guess it's the whole _beggars can't be choosers_ thing I am feeling right now."

"That totally makes sense. We would all love a perfect, made just-for-us house. But I think this place has charm and with the right contractor, the work will be done in no-time." Jo gave a reassuring smile. "I think you are just afraid to move."

He smirked. "There is that, too. We've just been there for so long, and now we have to up-root and move across the country, that doesn't sound like a fun thing to do."

"Oh come on, it will be good for you! Besides, I can't wait to see you guys more often."

"I almost forgot, Lisa was telling me about some big case that you help solve." He took a seat on the pony wall made out of concrete blocks.

"Yes, the team just got back from Roanoke a couple days ago." She sat on the wall next to her brother-in-law. "I found several different murders that took place throughout the country that people thought were stand-alone cases, but were actually all done by a serial killer. I brought the information to the team and they were able to figure out who the UnSub was and catch him red-handed." Jo stated proudly.

"That's fantastic! You should be really proud of yourself."

"Thanks. I am." She chuckled. "I think I am happier that the case is over. If I had to hear Morgan complain one more time about going on a stake-out, I think I was going to shoot myself."

Lisa opened up the sliding door. "Are you guys going to spend all day out there?"

Michael and Jo got up and made their way back inside.

Jo turned to her family. "Since that case was solved, the team is getting together at this bar that Garcia found that has karaoke. I would like for you both to come."

"Of course, that sounds like fun."

* * *

Reid and Jo walked into the hole-in-the-wall bar that would have been pitch black inside if it wasn't for all of the streaming lanterns and Christmas lights practically covering the ceiling. Jo stared at the handwritten sign above the bar that read _If you puke, you clean it up_. "This place is charming." Jo leaned into Reid.

"Yeah, I feel like I will need to cover myself in sanitizer just being in here." He responded, half making a joke, and half serious.

Garcia, dressed in neon orange with glasses to match came running toward the couple. "Oh, I am so glad that you made it! Isn't this place glorious?" She looked back to the depths of the bar and its patrons.

"I am not sure that is the word I would use." Jo giggled.

"Oh, I know, it's a little rough around the edges, but it's fun. I promise." Garcia smiled and led them back to the table she had in the corner where Morgan and JJ were already sitting.

Jo couldn't help but think about how Hotch and Rossi would fare coming inside here. They didn't exactly seem like the type that would fit in with this crowd. Then again, she knew she wasn't.

"We already have some pitchers of beer." Morgan announced as he started to pour.

Morgan had just started to tip the pitcher back up when Jo grabbed the glass from the table. "Thank you." She drank down half of it with several gulps then put it back down. She wiped the foam from her mouth. "I needed that."

"I guess so." He chuckled.

A huge biker wearing a leather vest and had a shaved head walked by Reid and bumped into him. He apologized but Reid was showing his discomfort with the situation.

JJ got up from her seat. "Come on, Spence, come sit over here." Her seat was next to the wall where no one would be able to disturb him and he would have the best view of the stage and the rest of the people.

Jo leaned in to Garcia. "These really don't seem like the kind of people that would go to a bar with karaoke."

Garcia smiled and nodded. "I know, isn't it great? That's what I love about this place, there are some many different types of people here from so many different walks of life. And yet, we all have one thing in common. We love to sing!"

Jo couldn't help but love Garcia and all of her quirks. She then turned to see Hotch making his way towards the group.

Morgan put out his hand to his boss. "Hey, thought you might not make it."

Hotch took a look around and raised his eyebrows. "This place is charming."

"Ha! I said the same thing." Jo blurted.

Garcia got really excited. "Okay, so who is going to sing first?"


	46. Yo soy loca con mi tigre

Rossi finished belting out his version of Frank Sinatra's My Way. The entire bar cheered for him as he returned to the table. Hotch smiled as he hugged his friend giving him congratulations.

Jo looked to see Lisa and Michael walking in. She waved them over. "Hey, so glad you could make it!" She quickly handed them each their own cups of beer. She then clutched onto Michael's arm and pulled him aside while Lisa chatted with Reid. "Listen, I already spoke with Derek. He wants you to call him and he will come to the house to check on everything. He will felt you know if it is worth it or not."

Michael felt relieved. "Thanks, Jo. But why Derek?"

"He restores older homes. It's one of his hobbies. So, he knows what he's talking about. And whenever you are ready, Spencer and I will help you paint." She flashed him a smile.

Michael leaned over to his sister-in-law and gave her a big hug. He then went to Derek and they started to discuss the home.

Garcia turned to the group. "Okay, who is going next?"

"Don't even ask." Hotch warned. "I'm just here to offer my support." He smirked then took a drink.

Lisa grabbed one of the Karaoke cards from the center of the table and started to fill it out.

Garcia became excited. "Oh, what are you going to sing?"

Jo laughed. "She and Michael have a song that they always sing."

"A duet?" Garcia asked. "How exciting. What is it?"

Lisa handed the card to Garcia. "It's _Don't Go Breaking My Heart_. And it isn't funny, Jo. I don't make fun of you." She stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"Oh good, does that mean that you are singing, too?" Garcia asked Jo.

Jo looked hesitant. "No, I don't think so."

Lisa turned to Garcia. "Don't worry." Then shot a wink.

Garcia turned to the rest of the table. "Well?"

JJ gave a grimace. "I will if everyone else will."

Emily finished gulping down her beer. "Give me one more of these, and I will join you."

Garcia got excited and quickly clapped her hands.

Michael and Morgan finished their chat and he made his way to the back corner with Reid and Hotch. "I would love to be able to hide back here, but I am pretty sure Lisa already signed us up."

"I am sorry to say that she has." Reid confirmed.

Hotch leaned in closer. "Does Jo ever get up there?"

Reid nodded. "Yes, but she usually needs a push."

"Like what?" Hotch asked.

"A lot of liquid courage." Michael held up his drink.

Reid looked toward Jo as she was finishing up her drink. "I would say at least one more and she should be good enough."

Garcia grabbed Jo's arm and followed JJ and Emily to the stage. "Come on, girl. You are joining us."

"Penelope, no, I can't." She resisted.

Lisa pulled Jo's beer from her hand. "Go!"

The girls gathered behind two microphones and the piano intro started. Then together they started to sing. "At first I was afraid, I was petrified…"

The crowd went wild as they sang _I will Survive_. Morgan pulled out his phone and started to record them. As they sang, the ladies were charismatic and were having a great time singing as a group. When they finished, they took a bow and rejoined the guys who were cheering and applauding.

"You ladies should go on the road." Morgan announced. "That was fantastic."

"Just wait until we sing our love song, Sugar." Garcia ran her fingers across his chest. "But that might not be appropriate for some audiences." She winked.

As the night continued, the group consumed plenty of drinks and watched even more people sing off key.

"So, Jo. What are you going to sing?" Lisa asked.

She shook her head. "I already sang a song."

"That was a group song, that doesn't count." Lisa remarked.

Hotch watched as Michael whispered in Reid's ear. Reid smiled and nodded. "Yes, do it!"

Rossi stood next to Hotch. "How come I feel like there is a conspiracy happening?"

"I agree, I'm curious to see what will happen." Hotch confided.

Michael filled out one of the karaoke cards and handed it to Garcia. She smiled as she read it.

Jo leaned across the table and grabbed herself another drink. The MC stood at the microphone. "Okay, next we have Jo Pierce." Causing her to spit out her drink.

Jo's friends laughed. "Go on!" They nudged and pushed her.

She made her way up onto the stage then laughed when she saw the song listed. A Latin dance rhythm started playing and Jo then sang in Spanish. The team looked at her in shock.

"I didn't know she spoke Spanish." Hotch turned to Reid.

"Oh, she doesn't." Reid shook his head.

Hotch and Rossi both stared at Reid looking for answers.

"She doesn't speak Spanish, but she knows how to sing her favorite songs in it."

They looked back to watch her sing.

"Yo soy loca con mi tigre!" She sang and owned the stage.

* * *

Morgan and Prentiss stepped off the elevator both looking like they haven't had any sleep. Garcia stood in front of them holding a cup of coffee for each of them. "I am sorry to interrupt the rest of your weekend, especially after all the fun we had last night, but we got a case. We're meeting in the conference room in ten minutes."

Morgan took the coffee from her hand. "Thank you, Mama."

"You guys haven't heard from Reid yet, have you?" Garcia inquired.

Prentiss raised her eyebrow. "Um, no. Did he not answer his phone?"

"No, he hasn't, it went straight to voicemail. I tried his home phone as well." Garcia looked worried.

Morgan gave a smirk. "Well, did you try Jo's? After all, they did leave together."

Garcia followed them as they walked through the bullpen. "Yes, I did, both of her phones, too."

"That's not like them." Prentiss observed.

Hotch approached them holding onto a casefile. "What is going on with Reid?"

"I can't get ahold of him. I tried Jo just in case. Still nothing." Garcia reported.

"Why don't each of you go to their apartments, see if they are there. Dave, JJ and I will start on the case, good thing it's a local." He walked away with Garcia toward the conference room.

* * *

Jo started to wake up and realized that she was sitting up. As she became more alert she saw that her wrists were bound to a simple, wooden armchair. The room was very dark and she couldn't see much. She turned her head as much as she could and noticed that there was another chair back-to-back with hers. "Spencer?" She called out.

He opened his eyes and let out a groan. "Where are we? What happened?"

"I don't know." Jo struggled to get free but to no avail.


	47. We will get this guy

Prentiss walked up the stairs of Reid's apartment building where she went to his door and saw a stack of small-town newspapers in front of his door. She knocked but there was no answer. She looked to her ringing phone to see that Morgan was calling her. "Hey, anything at Jo's?"

"No, she isn't here. What about Reid?" Morgan asked.

"The same; no forced entry and newspapers are stacked in front of the door." She reported.

"Okay, I am going to see if Garcia can track their phones."

* * *

The team approached the taped off crime scene where the crime scene unit was busy uncovering bodies buried in a shallow grave.

"Are you from the FBI?" An eager police detective walked their way holding out his hand ready to shake.

"Yes, we are from the BAU." Hotch reported. "These are Agents Rossi and Jareau." They all exchanged greetings with each other.

"I am Detective Sanchez; I spoke with an Agent Garcia as soon as we discovered the bodies." He couldn't help but showing the struggles he was having with this case.

"What can you tell us?" Rossi asked as they got closer to the grave.

"This is the third set of bodies that we discovered in Rock Creek Park this month. The medical examiner states that they couldn't have been here for more than a week. We won't know who they are for sure until they get examined, however, I believe they are a couple who was reported missing last Sunday." Sanchez offered up his suspicions.

"What about the other bodies?" JJ asked.

"Same." Sanchez started. "All are young couples in their thirties. They were each abducted and held for at least twenty-four hours before being tortured to death."

"We will have our analyst look for any viable connection between them." Hotch then picked up his phone. "Go ahead, Garcia."

"I am kinda freaking out over here; there is still no word on Reid. I even tried to ping both of their phones and they are shut off. I have a trace on them in case they are turned back on but I can't do anything else at this point." Garcia was worried.

"We will be heading back there shortly. In the meantime, please look into the other victims that were discovered and see if they had any connections.

Rossi stepped toward a troubled looking Sanchez. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I will be. I've just had this case since the first couple was found. I am still not any closer to finding out who did this. I am not sure if I am grateful that this couple will help be the key we were looking for or just another reminder that there is a psycho out there and I am nowhere near catching him." Sanchez confessed.

Rossi put his hand on his shoulder. "We have all been there. We will get this guy."

* * *

The elevator doors opened to the sixth floor. Garcia ran to meet Hotch, Rossi, and JJ. "I found a breadcrumb; a small one but it's something." She pulled her tablet out in front of her. "I know that Jo and Spencer walked last night to the bar, since it isn't too far from his apartment. I did some checking, there is an ATM a block from the bar. I went through the footage and saw them walking at 11:22 last night. But I wasn't able to find any other camera system to check closer to his home." They all looked at the video of Jo and Spencer holding hands as they walked past the bank.

Hotch called Morgan and Prentiss. "Go back to the bar from last night and trace their steps back to Reid's apartment. Garcia has video of them passing a bank, but we don't have anything after that." He then looked to the group. "We still have work to do. So for right now, we will be working both cases."

The team walked to the conference room where Garcia started to pass out folders on their current case. "Okay, now back to other business." She stood in front of them. "So, assuming that the poor souls found this morning were indeed Stephan Ray and Carlye Walton, who were reported missing last week, and we wont know that until I hear from the medical examiner. I did a search between all the victims and found no connection. They were, however, all in their thirties and established couples." Garcia clicked on her remote to pull up all of their pictures. There were no connections between body types, hair color, etc. for them to trace back to a particular victim pool.

"Who reported Ray and Walton missing?" JJ asked.

"That would be Carlye's brother. They were supposed to have brunch and they never showed." Garcia reported as the team read the files.

Rossi flipped back and forth between the files. "Each couple was abducted after going out on a Saturday night." He then looked up to the others. "They were all walking home."

"Just like Spence and Jo." JJ looked worried. They all exchanged looks. Hotch got back on phone to update Morgan and Prentiss that their cases maybe intertwined.

* * *

Jo continued to struggle but was unable to break free. "Spencer, can you move?"

"No, I am sure that when Thomas & Betts invented zip-ties, they never thought they would be used as restraints." Reid tried to squeeze his wrist through the opening.

"Are you able to see an exit?" Jo asked with her back to Reid.

"I'm not able to see any kind of door... or anything for that matter. It's really dark."

"Wait, I think i can see something." Jo stared at a dark object in the corner of the room.

"What is it?" Reid asked, attempting to turn his head to be able to see.

Jo squinted trying to focus when suddenly two eyes opened and stared back at her causing her to let out a screech.

"What happened?" Reid asked, trying to break free.

"There's someone in here with us."


	48. We will find them, Dave

Rossi and JJ entered the medical examiner's office as the doctor was washing her hands. Two bodies were covered with sheets lying on the tables in the middle of the room. "Were you able to identify them?" Rossi asked.

"Yes, as suspected, they are Walton and Ray, the couple that was reported missing last week." She said.

"How long have they been dead?" JJ asked.

"I would rate the decomp at four to five days."

"So, we are thinking that the UnSub had them for approximately two days. What was the cause of death?" Rossi was writing in his notebook.

"He had a ruptured spleen and she had a pneumothorax. Both injuries caused from being beaten." She reported.

"But what are all these marks?" JJ pointed to the lacerations covering their bodies.

"They were made with some sort of metal tool. I haven't been able to narrow it down yet. Maybe something from woodworking, perhaps." The M.E. surmised.

She lifted up Walton's arm. "They were both restrained." She pointed to the marks on the wrists. "Which would explain the lack of defensive wounds. But I will know more as I continue to do my examinations."

* * *

Morgan and Prentiss canvased the streets starting from the dive bar they were all at the previous evening.

"How many more blocks to Reid's place from here?" Prentiss asked.

"Five." Morgan announced as he scoured the area.

"They could have been picked up anywhere between here and there. I am not sure we are going to find anything." Prentiss confessed.

"Quite possibly, but we need to keep looking." They continued to search the next couple of blocks. "Hey Prentiss, look at this." Morgan called her over.

The agents stood over tire marks that went up onto the sidewalk. "They look fresh, too." Prentiss pointed out while Morgan was moving the loose bit of rubber between his fingers. She kicked through the trash that was gathered up alongside the building. "I got something." She held in her hand a brown, leather wallet. Together they opened it exposing Reid's identification. "This is where they were taken."

"Yeah, but taken to where? And why is Reid's wallet on the ground? Did he leave it there intentionally on the off chance that we would find it?" Morgan questioned as he pulled out his phone. "Hey, Mama, I am sending you some tire tracks for you to trace. I also show that the vehicle turned west onto Plymouth, could you check and see if there are any cameras that could have this taken a picture of this vehicle?"

Garcia typed furiously. "I will leave no stone unturned. If there is an image to be found, I will find it! Garcia out!"

* * *

Jo kept her eyes on the mysterious person hidden in the corner of the room. "Who are you? What do you want?" She asked but received no response.

The dark figure stood up and lit a single candle then approached her. As her eyes adjusted to the light she could see that it was a man with wire-like hair. He had leather gloves with the finger ends cut off and cold, steely eyes.

Jo stared at him as the left side of his face occasionally twitched. He held up a shiny, metal object before her eyes that made her flinch. He smirked as he saw the fear in her eyes. The man waved the tool in front of her then quickly slashed at her shoulder causing her to let out a wince. He continued to taunt her followed by a shallow cut multiple times.

Reid desperately tried to free himself as he heard Jo's shrieks. "Leave her alone!" He demanded. "If you want to torture someone, come do it to me."

The UnSub gave a satisfying smirk then punched Jo in the face. Her head flew backwards and knocked Reid forward. Jo looked right back at him and spit her blood in his face. His eyes grew darker and jabbed the metal weapon into her arm. Jo couldn't help but let out a scream. He now grinned as he saw the pain sweep across her face.

* * *

Hotch gathered the FBI team in the bullpen. "Two of our agents are missing. We believe they have been abducted by the UnSub who has already killed six people in a month, all of them couples."

Rossi stood with his hands in his front pockets. "We are looking for a man in his mid to late thirties. He would recently have had things in his life fall apart; fired from his job, gotten out of a relationship by a long-term girlfriend or wife. His life isn't as picture perfect as it was."

"The fact that he uses multiple ways of torturing his victims suggests that he is disorganized in the killings. But he has been able to kidnap them and dispose of their bodies without being detected which marks a level of clarity which means that it is something in these couples that is making him unleash his anger on them." Prentiss added.

"His anger also differs in each couple." Morgan started. "He is getting enjoyment from this. So he has to go bigger each time to get the feeling he had with the first victims. This is just going to keep growing inside of him which makes him more volatile and unpredictable."

"It is imperative that we work quickly to locate him as well as Reid and Pierce. Previous victims have been held for approximately forty-eight hours, it has already been eighteen." JJ tried not to let her emotions show.

"Yes, and the clock is ticking." Hotch quickly jumped in. "We have narrowed down a geographic profile to these areas on the map. We believe that he drives a small truck or van; something that could go unnoticed in those areas at that time of night."

The group disbursed. Hotch turned to Rossi who was staring at Reid and Jo's pictures that were taped to the board with the word 'missing' posted above them. "We will find them, Dave." Hotch then turned to view their pictures himself. "We have to."


	49. We need help now!

Jo had over twenty gashes on her body as the UnSub took his time placing each slice into her skin causing her to let out a cry with every cut. She watched as the left side of his face twitched from some paralysis. Only half of his face would move giving him a creepy smirk.

She had no idea how much more she would have to endure, but knew that that was only one way that she was going to get through it. She took a deep breath and stared at him, unwavering. He put his weapon against her neck and slowly slid it down to her shoulder. But she didn't make a sound or even flinch. His eyebrows furrowed as he pushed in the metal deeper into her skin but she still didn't give him the reaction he was after. He pulled the piece away and punched her hard in the abdomen causing her to buckle over and gasp for air. She looked up to see that he was beaming with joy.

"What the hell is your problem?" Reid called out.

The man slinked his way in front of Reid and crooked his head to the side smirking at him. "Tell me."

"Tell you what?" Reid asked.

"Tell me what all the men say. Tell me how you want me to leave her alone and give all the pain to you."

"Yes." Reid spoke out. "Leave her alone."

"I had a feeling you would say that." He charged to Jo's chair and pushed it over causing her to crash onto the ground. She made every effort not to show a reaction.

"Are you okay?" Reid desperately called out.

"You men all want to take on the burden and spare the girl, thinking you're big, strong men. But you all give in. Every time. Love is never strong enough! They have begged me to stop making me hurt the women that they loved. I will prove that you are just like them." He jabbed the metal into Reid's ribs.

Jo heard Reid bellow out in pain. "Joshua 1:9!" She called out.

Reid was confused. He knew Jo wouldn't spout scripture. He wondered what she would mean. He thought about it. The only thing that made sense was ' _Do not be afraid_ _'_. He then understood. "Who was it that hurt you? Did she hurt you first?" Reid tried to antagonize.

"Shut up!" His face twitched as he grabbed his hair in frustration.

"Did you give up? Is that what happened? You weren't strong enough?" Reid continued to push.

The UnSub let out a scream and pushed Reid's chair across the floor several feet until it crashed against the wall. He then kicked Reid repeatedly but with his anger, he mostly hit the chair.

Reid was able to get his hand free and blocked himself but wasn't able to prevent a blow to the head. He pretended to lose consciousness. The man turned to Jo who was still on her side and wiped his nose.

Jo knew that Reid only needed some time to be able to break apart the rest of his chair. "Tell me about how you were too weak to be there for the woman that you supposedly loved."

He picked up a broken leg from Reid's chair and stormed towards Jo who was still lying on her side strapped to the chair. Reid struggled to break free and with his one hand free he struggled to free his other limbs.

The UnSub proceeded to beat on Jo. "You women are all the same! You lie and pretend that you care and then leave the one you claim that you love after promising to love them forever! You will pay, you will all pay!"

Suddenly, a set up double doors opened up above them letting the light into the darkness. All three closed their eyes from the adjustment. Multiple handguns pointed downward directly to the UnSub.

"Henry Jacobs, FBI!" Hotch announced.

Jacobs held up his hands while still holding onto the broken chair leg. "You don't understand, I need to finish my work."

"No, you don't." Hotch held his aim.

Morgan dropped into the bunker then held his weapon towards Jacobs. "It's over. Drop it!"

Jacobs let go of the the wood as it clanged onto the ground, he then placed his hands on top of his head. "You're making a mistake! You'll see, you'll all see!"

The expandable ladder was lowered allowing Morgan to escort Jacobs out of the cavern.

Hotch and Rossi both went down to check on their teammates.

Hotch moved Jo's chair upright then cut he plastic ties from Jo's wrists were cut. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "I don't think it is anything major."

"We still need to get all those cuts looked at. You might need some stitches." He looked all the gashes and punctures on her.

Jo agreed, knowing better than to argue with him.

Rossi helped Reid to break free from the rest of the broken chair. Reid then hobbled toward Jo and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so glad you're okay." He then turned to the others. "How did you know where to find us?"

"Henry Jacobs was engaged to the first victim who broke up with him a couple years ago. Since then it was one thing after another. He lost his job, his home, then his new girlfriend left him. He blamed his ex for all his issues and started this whole mess." Rossi explained.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. I'm not sure what would have hap—"Reid's face flushed.

"Spencer?" Jo asked as he grabbed his side in pain.

Reid collapsed and laid unconscious on the floor. They all noticed the blood was seeping from where he was stabbed by Jacobs.

Hotch placed his hands over the wound trying to keep pressure on it. "We need help now!" He called out.


End file.
